Local activists gathered at Yale University’s Amistad Park in New Haven earlier this month to demand accountability from federal lawmakers over a looming $1 trillion in cuts to the nation’s healthcare infrastructure. The event was part of a nationwide mobilization uniting advocates, healthcare workers and public figures across 75 cities and 33 states to amplify a clear message: healthcare cuts kill.
State federation and affiliate leaders spoke directly to how these cuts will squeeze families already reeling from an escalating affordability crisis.
“The loss of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is just the tip of the iceberg,” said AFT Connecticut Vice President John Brady, RN (left, in collage, above). “Many of the biggest harms of the ‘big beautiful bill’ haven’t even gone into effect. The plain truth about those who voted for it is this: they do not believe that healthcare is a right or that it should be accessible and affordable for everyone.”
Catastrophic Cuts to Clinical Care
Brady’s comments targeted Congress’s vote last summer to slash health-related programs and services via H.R. 1. Lawmakers delayed the most devastating impacts of the bill until later this year, but once effective, the damage will be catastrophic. Across the country, over 15 million people are projected to lose health coverage, leading to an estimated 51,000 preventable deaths annually. By stripping funds from Medicaid, the ACA, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), lawmakers executed the largest healthcare rollback in American history.
The New Haven action, spearheaded by labor allies and co-sponsored by a broad coalition of 20 statewide, regional, and local organizations, also celebrated the frontline “healthcare heroes” keeping the system afloat.
“We have to uplift the people who are most impacted; the most vulnerable among us,” said Danielle Berriault, RN (center, above), the president of our Backus Federation of Nurses. “We must, because a rising tide lifts all boats, and that’s what this event is about. How else are we going to be free and have any kind of semblance of a human existence? Together, is how we can do that.”
Undermining Research
The rollback also threatens the future of medicine by gutting federal grants administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Without these resources, scientists will be forced to abandon promising research into cures for Alzheimer’s, cancer, and other debilitating diseases.
“The impact of these cuts isn’t just short-term; impeding life-saving research carries long-term consequences,” said AAUP Yale Executive Committee Member Jeffrey Wickersham (right, above). “Future medical breakthroughs, new drug discoveries and potential cures for deadly diseases are all at risk. Reducing federal funding grants will cut back on the work done at R1 doctoral universities, like Yale here in Connecticut, and across the country.”
Sounding the Bed Alarm
The event concluded at sunset with a powerful candlelight vigil, honoring those already lost to health inequities and the millions more whose lives remain at risk if federal funding is not restored.
Going forward, our national union and allies across the country are mobilizing for this year’s mid-term elections. We have the opportunity to hold politicians who voted to deny millions of American families access to critical care and life-saving research accountable.
