Mayor Lucas: The Trump Bill Will Strip About $150B of Support for the System, Put a Third of It Back and Say It Should Be All Good

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
SHARPTON: “Now, let’s stick with this for a moment. Nearly 1.5 million Missourians rely on Medicaid, according to the kff. This bill will cut almost $17 billion from the state’s Medicaid program in the next 10 years. The state’s health care system stands to lose $1.2 billion a year when the bills are fully implemented. Missouri already has a rural health care crisis. In less than 10 years, 12 hospitals in rural counties have closed, according to the Missouri department of health and senior services. There are now 50 rural counties without a hospital at all. Average distances to the closest hospital can be more than 51 miles away, and drive times from these counties can be 40 minutes to an hour in good traffic. Both of Missouri’s senators, both Josh Hawley, who has been who is very vocal about the impact it would have on rural hospitals, voted for this bill. Have they proposed a way to fix the massive looming issue, given what’s going on in their own state?”

LUCAS: “No. It’s almost even more insulting than that. So they are defunding and destabilizing health care in our states, while at the same time saying, yeah, we put some money in little bucket that maybe they will be entitled to later. So you’re going to strip about $150 billion of support for the system, put a third of it back in and say it should be all good. I mean, this bill is astonishing for a few different reasons. Some of us who live in the cities are used to getting picked on by this administration, are used to getting picked on by the Republican Party. But what they did this time was undermined, destabilized health care in rural Missouri and rural middle America and rural parts. Of our entire country. What you are going to see is more hospitals closed in rural parts of America. You are going to see more people die and more people die. Earlier in rural America, if ever there has been a bill that lets lots of people in the red states and I happen to live in one, know that our leadership does not care about you, it is this bill. It is unconscionable to me as somebody who does spend my days caring about not just the people in my city, but all the people who are hours and hours away, who come to our city for care. I’m terrified for that woman who has a difficult pregnancy now. I’m terrified for the people who need care. I’m terrified for people who are living in need. Frankly, food assistance and nutrition assistance in rural America, this is destabilizing, not just the cities, but our entire country.”