ICYMI Nancy Pelosi, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner: We Can Fix Health Care, But Trump Chooses Iran

Washington D.C. - In a new USA TODAY op-ed, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and MomsRising Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner argue that America's growing health care affordability crisis is the direct result of Republican policy choices that slashed Medicaid, increased costs for working families and prioritized war and tax breaks for the wealthy over the health of the American people.

They call on Congress to reverse Republican health care cuts, permanently extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and recommit to policies that lower costs for families, strengthen the nation's health care system and ensure every American has access to affordable care.

Read the full op-ed below:

USA TODAY: Pelosi, Rowe-Finkbeiner: We can fix health care, but Trump chooses Iran(link is external)

[By Nancy Pelosi and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, 7/9/26]
Republicans doubled down on extreme health care cuts during an affordability crisis to pay for even more tax breaks for people who don't need them. But we can reverse that.

Families don't need another report to tell them health care is becoming more unaffordable, but the latest data(link is external) confirms what we're already feeling in our wallets: Less than half of Americans can now afford health care.(link is external)

Wondering what's happening? We have answers.

Republicans triggered a nationwide health care crisis by slashing $1 trillion from Medicaid(link is external) in their 2025 reconciliation bill and failing to extend(link is external) the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.

But instead of fixing the crisis they created, in June the Republican-controlled Congress passed another reconciliation bill(link is external) that, along with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act(link is external), poured more than $240 billion into militarized immigration enforcement without guardrails to protect our communities - while ignoring the financial realities facing America's families.

This health care crisis is not a question of resources - it is a question of priorities. The $240 billion would cover Medicaid(link is external) for about 30 million people. And the daily cost of the war in Iran alone could cover(link is external) the daily health care costs of the 16 million people expected to lose Medicaid - and still cover Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for all 41 million Americans who rely on it.

Again, the resources are there. The priorities are wrong.

Across America, working families are being pushed to the breaking point by a health care crisis that grows worse by the day. The consequences are devastating.

Just take the direct impact of the cuts in the 2025 reconciliation package: While about 16 million Americans are expected to lose their health insurance(link is external) by 2034 because of those Medicaid cuts, that's just part of the negative consequences.

At the same time, rising Affordable Care Act premiums are pricing families out of coverage altogether. Early 2026 data already shows ACA enrollment dropped by 13%, which is nearly 3 million people(link is external), with some experts projecting a 20% drop(link is external) - meaning roughly 5 million fewer people with coverage and soaring premiums for 22 million families(link is external).

Even as families pay more, services are worsening as hospitals struggle(link is external) under the weight of these cuts.

More than 15 million could lose health care thanks to Republican cuts

To be clear, taking an axe to Medicaid is taking an axe to the heart of America: our children. More than 35 million children(link is external) - nearly half of all children in our country(link is external) - receive their health care through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.

Medicaid also covers more than 40% of births(link is external) in our country, protecting both mothers and babies at the most vulnerable moment in their lives.

America's health care crisis will only deepen(link is external) as the Republican cuts take hold over the next decade, with the most severe impacts beginning in 2027.

Experts warn that about 15 million(link is external) additional people could lose coverage in the years ahead. Even families with employer-sponsored insurance are not spared(link is external).

Across the country, families are being forced into impossible choices(link is external): health care or groceries, prescriptions or rent, gas in the car or a doctor's visit.

At the same time, the very health care system families rely on is under strain. Hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and maternity wards are cutting services, laying off staff or closing altogether.

One in 7(link is external) Americans depend on a rural hospital for care, and closures are accelerating(link is external) - forcing patients to rely on air ambulances(link is external) or travel hours for basic services.

In urban areas, more than 440 hospitals(link is external) serving 6.6 million patients are at risk of closing or reducing services, with a quarter of hospitals in five states in jeopardy.

For pregnant women and new mothers, these closures are not just devastating - they are dangerous. When a maternity ward closes, we lose more than convenience, we lose safety:

• Progress made under Medicaid expansion(link is external) is under direct threat of imminent reversal(link is external).
• Maternal care deserts(link is external) now exist in more than 35% of counties, including 56% of rural counties.
• The United States already has the highest maternal mortality rate(link is external) among developed nations, with Black women three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause(link is external) than White women.

Americans are concerned about health care costs. Trump doesn't care.

This is not acceptable. It is outrageous.

We are living through a crisis that feels like a real-life episode of "The Pitt(link is external)" - because Republican leaders are prioritizing ballrooms over emergency rooms. That is not what the American people want, and it is not what they deserve. One-third of Americans(link is external) now report cutting back on basic necessities just to afford health care.

We choose what to fund as a nation - and most Americans prioritize their health care, with 7 in 10 adults(link is external) saying they are very concerned about their health care costs.

Let us be clear: The steep hike in health care didn't happen by accident.

President Donald Trump(link is external) and Republicans in Congress doubled down on extreme cuts to health care during an affordability crisis to pay for even more tax breaks for people who don't need them, as well as for separating families, human rights abuses and terrifying hardworking immigrants - people essential to our care workforce, our economy and our future. Our nation needs a safe and orderly immigration process that balances compassion and security, not cuts to health care and not cruelty.

Despite the political chaos, solutions are still possible. Our nation can reverse course by reversing the cuts.

But make no mistake, reversing the cuts is going to take our voices, our persistence, our insistence and our votes. In this increasing climate of voter intimidation and gerrymandering, double-check your voter registration and make a plan to vote with friends. Call your members of Congress and urge them to reverse the massive cuts that Republican leaders made to health care, permanently extend the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and proactively pass improved health care access.

America's families need universal access to affordable health care. They need paid family and medical leave. They need access to healthy food, affordable childcare, and quality care for aging loved ones and people with disabilities. These are not luxuries - they are the foundation of a strong economy and a just society.

These are the policies that will lift families up, strengthen our workforce and restore dignity to everyday life. These are the policies that will end the affordability crisis driven by these cruel and unjust cuts.

In the United States of America, what we are experiencing is not just a policy failure. It is a moral failure. And we must act now before it's too late.