Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have passed a law that will rip healthcare away from millions of working people and their families. Their plan guts Medicaid and slashes the Affordable Care Act, putting lifesaving care out of reach and letting people die just to hand more tax breaks to the rich. If we don’t stop them, they plan to double down with another attack on our healthcare.
The Affordable Care Act
Working families won big when Congress expanded healthcare subsidies during the pandemic; those changes meant many of us could finally afford coverage, and some of the lowest-paid workers didn’t have to pay anything at all. Even people with higher incomes got help for the first time. But now, those savings are at risk. If Congress doesn’t act, premiums will skyrocket, and millions of people could be priced out of the coverage we all fought hard to win.
Millions of people will see their out-of-pocket costs rise if Congress does not extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits, which are set to expire in December.
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Write a Letter to Congress: Protect affordable access to healthcare!
More than 4 million people will lose access to healthcare when the ACA’s tax credits expire in December, and nearly 9,000 people will die every year without an extension.
Republicans chose not to extend these ACA tax credits, even though an extension would benefit all working people—including those in their districts. “In 2024, 56% of ACA Marketplace enrollees live Congressional Districts represented by Republicans and 76% of enrollees are in states won by President Trump in the 2024 election.”
The ACA and Your Community
State fact sheets on the ACA’s tax credits
Map and fact sheets via The Commonwealth Fund
Defend Medicaid for Working People
The law Trump and Republicans have passed will slash $1 trillion from Medicaid—the health lifeline that healthcare professionals, educators, public employees and other union members depend on. These cuts aren’t just numbers, they are our colleagues, our students and our neighbors who are losing care, putting thousands of lives at risk every year.
Medicaid is a Lifeline for Working Families. Republicans Want to Cut It Off.
Over 72 million Americans count on Medicaid for healthcare. That includes the kids we teach, the patients we care for and the communities we serve. But now, the Republican law will slash funding to the hospitals and clinics where we work, threatening the safety of every patient who walks through the door just to pay for a handout to billionaires.
Republican-backed cuts to Medicaid could wipe out billions of dollars hospitals rely on.
What happens when that money disappears?
- Hospital budget cuts mean layoffs, unit closures, and devastating gaps, especially in rural and low-income communities.
- These cuts will accelerate the shutdown of labor & delivery wards and other essential but less profitable services.
Healthcare workers will pay the price—with job loss, unsafe staffing, and rising workplace violence.
Estimated Impact of New Law on Hospitals Nationwide
Understaffing Hurts Every Patient
We’ve seen it on the job: fewer healthcare workers means more risk. When Medicaid funding dries up, so does staffing—and every patient suffers:
- Just one extra patient per nurse increases the chance of death by 7 percent.
- Patients face higher risk of cardiac arrest, infections, and preventable complications.
- As preventive care disappears, emergency rooms become the last resort—causing delays, overcrowding, and crisis care instead of chronic care.
This isn’t just bad policy. It’s a direct attack on public healthcare and the workers who make it run. Union members fought to win healthcare at work, and we’ve spent decades making sure our communities have access too.
Republican Cuts will Hurt Students with Disabilities and School Staff.
Medicaid reimbursements help to fund the salaries of school-based health staff. This means, in many instances, the new law potentially endangers the jobs of AFT school psychologists; counselors; social workers; speech pathologists; school nurses; and occupational, physical and other therapists, putting the education of our students with the most need at risk.