U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison Joins Democratic Doctors Caucus in Calling Out Republican Proposal to Gut Medicaid

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Kelly Morrison (MN-03) and her fellow members of the Democratic Doctors Caucus held a press conference to call out Republican attempts to slash Medicaid by at least $880 billion. More than 1.2 million Minnesotans, including 650,000 children, get their health insurance through Medicaid. The current Republican budget calls for historic cuts to Medicaid that would decimate the program, leaving countless Americans without the health care they need, and affect the broader health care system, causing longer wait times and reduced care in emergency rooms, increased health care costs, and the closure of nursing homes and hospitals.

Background on the Democratic Doctors Caucus

All six Democratic physicians serving in the U.S. House of Representatives joined together this year to launch the first-ever Democratic Doctors Caucus. The caucus is dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of Americans, advancing pragmatic health care policy, and providing fellow Members with insights on critical health issues.

Members of the Democratic Doctors Caucus include:

• Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06) - Internal Medicine
• Herb Conaway Jr., M.D. (NJ-03) - Internal Medicine
• Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03) - Pulmonary & Critical Care
• Kelly Morrison, M.D. (MN-03) - Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-25) - Emergency Medicine
• Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) - Pediatrics

Watch the full press conference HERE.

See below for a transcript of Congresswoman Morrison's remarks:

Good morning,

I'm Dr. Kelly Morrison. I represent Minnesota's Third District and I am the first and only pro-choice OBGYN here in Congress.

I've had the honor and privilege of caring for women for more than 20 years, and one of the great joys of my job as an OBGYN is caring for my patients during their pregnancies and helping them grow their families.

I carry my patients and their stories with me and they inform my work here in Congress.

I think about them and all the challenges new parents face during pregnancy and then after they head home with their new baby: recovering from the delivery, adjusting to life with a little one, accessing the care they and their family need, balancing care-giving and work, making ends meet, the high cost of raising children in the United States. It's a lot!

And I think about all the babies I've delivered whose moms got their health care through Medicaid and how critical that was to help them get off to the best possible start.

And because of those patients, and patients across our country, I stand here today both incredulous and outraged that the Republican majority in Congress plans to gut Medicaid - the health care program that covers 40% of ALL BIRTHS and insures almost half of all children in our country.

As an OBGYN, as a mother, as a member of Congress, as an American, it is unconscionable to me.

We already have a maternal health crisis in our country that has been exacerbated by the restriction of access to reproductive health care unleashed by the Dobbs decision almost 3 years ago.

And this is coming as the White House is assessing ways to quote: "persuade women to have more children."

The hypocrisy is as harmful as it is infuriating.

We don't need some of the ideas the White House has floated, like giving medals to women for having six or more babies, or paying them $5,000 per delivery, or getting the government involved in tracking their ovulation…

We need moms and new babies to be able to get health care!

But that is exactly the opposite of what the Republican majority is doing with their budget.

With their budget proposal, they are choosing to take health care away from moms and babies.

This will, of course, devastate the moms and new babies who get their health care coverage through Medicaid, but it will also be disastrous for maternal health care across the country.

Consider the the facts about the maternal health care crisis we face now - and remember this is BEFORE Medicaid is gutted:

In more than half of our country, women do not have a place to go to get obstetric care.

Among our peer nations, the United States has both the highest rate of maternal deaths AND the highest rate of infant deaths.

In 2022, there were more than double, and sometimes triple, the rate of maternal deaths in the United States compared to most other high-income countries.

And most of these maternal deaths - more than 80 percent - are likely preventable.

This is an unacceptable crisis that demands immediate action from our nation's legislators.

So what is the Republican majority doing?

Instead of working to find ways to improve women's health and to help moms and babies, they are shoving a budget through that will devastate our nation's maternal health care and decimate many of our hospitals and clinics.

At a time when we are facing a literal crisis, why in the world are they doing this?

Why are they choosing to harm women and children?

They're doing it to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest among us. That is literally why. To make the math work to cut taxes for billionaires.

They are selling out the health of women, mothers, new babies, the future of our country - to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.

This from the party that calls itself pro-life and pro-family.

It's hard to imagine a more anti-family policy.

But I want to be very clear here today: this fight is NOT OVER.

The American people are speaking up and saying that this is not what they want. And Republican legislators are taking note.

Recently, more than a dozen Republican state legislators from my home state sent a letter to President Trump and the Republican members of Minnesota's Congressional Delegation imploring them to NOT CUT MEDICAID. They highlighted the dangerous threat that their budget poses to Minnesotans' health and economy. They said it would hurt their constituents and it would put incredible pressure on the state budget.

Then a dozen Congressional Republicans sent a letter to their leadership voicing their opposition to Medicaid cuts.

And today, Republicans have pushed back the committee hearing in which they were scheduled to finalize their Medicaid cuts because they're facing increasing pressure every day - and the resistance opposing these cuts is only getting stronger.

And that's because people understand how harmful - how devastating - these cuts would be. And they have joined the fight to save Medicaid. Patients, providers, hospitals, state legislators, federal legislators, the American people are coming together to save Medicaid.

And they're doing it because they understand that we will all be better off. As Minnesota's former Senator Paul Wellstone always said, we all do better when we all do better.

So I encourage everyone to keep standing up and speaking out.

And I call on the Republican majority to make their "pro-family" rhetoric match their policy, put America's moms and babies first, and stop these proposed Medicaid cuts.

And now I'm honored to turn it over to the esteemed and outstanding Representative Dr. Raul Ruiz.

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