For Illinois families of all backgrounds and across the state, health care isn’t an afterthought — it’s a lifeline. Since becoming governor, I have made it a top priority — eliminating the Medicaid backlog, passing the Healthcare Protection Act, expanding Medicaid access and coverage, erasing hundreds of millions of dollars in medical debt, and investing in safety net and rural health systems.
Unfortunately, congressional Republicans passed a budget that will mean stripping away health care from working families to finance tax cuts for a privileged few, taking from low- and middle-income families to benefit the rich. From day one, Donald Trump and JD Vance’s administration has put health care on the chopping block.
President Trump promised he wouldn’t cut Medicaid. But within hours of taking office, he signed executive orders aimed at weakening the Affordable Care Act.
Just a week later, his Office of Management and Budget froze the Medicaid payment system and prevented many health care providers from operating effectively. The public backlash forced a reversal within 48 hours.
Then this week, House Republicans voted to advance a budget that requires $880 billion in funding cuts, much of which must come from the Medicaid program. Trump endorsed that plan.
It isn’t just Medicaid they are planning to cut. The Trump administration and House Republicans plan to eliminate tax credits that enable millions of Americans to buy insurance on the health care marketplace. The Urban Institute projects this will cause premiums to nearly double, eliminate health coverage for another 45,000 Illinoisans and leave 67,000 fewer people in the state covered by subsidized ACA plans.
Amid the incompetence and chaos of the Trump presidency, it can be easy to get distracted or demoralized and ignore the cruelty of it all.
So, let me say this plainly: If Trump, Vice President Vance, Elon Musk and congressional Republicans get their way, up to a million Illinoisans will lose health care coverage.
One in four Illinois residents — more than 3.4 million people — are covered by Medicaid. Who are they? Medicaid provides health care for nearly half of our state’s children. It’s the largest insurer for people who live in nursing homes and for people with developmental disabilities. Farmers and rural farm workers will lose the ability to see a doctor when they’re ill.
This is also a broader economic issue. Illinois hospitals and health systems support 445,000 full-time jobs and anchor many rural communities. Hospitals will close. People will lose their jobs.
If that weren’t enough, these cuts — which will rip health care from tens of millions nationwide — will not be enough to pay for the Republican tax giveaway to the wealthy. They’ll blow a hole in the deficit — and threaten the lives of millions. They are hoping no one notices until after it’s done.
Illinois is doing all we can to preserve health care coverage. But if Trump succeeds in cutting Medicaid, no state in the country has the money to backfill the billions of dollars in funding. It will be gone, and the consequences will be devastating. People will be stripped of lifesaving care. People will die — and blood will be on the hands of the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
To stop them, people must make their voices heard. Demand that Trump and Vance and Republicans in Washington prioritize your family’s health care over tax cuts for the wealthy. Call your congressman and senators or go to their next public appearance. Stand up. Speak out. Show up. Let them know if they take Medicaid away, you’ll vote to take their job away.
JB Pritzker is the governor of Illinois.
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