National Nurses United on SNAP cutoff, skyrocketing ACA premiums: ‘Our patients will die’

The nation's largest union of registered nurses provided the following statement ahead of Nov. 1, when SNAP food assistance benefits will cut off amid the ongoing government shutdown, just as health insurance premiums are also set to skyrocket:

Nurses are outraged that the Trump administration has chosen to cut off SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) food benefits that keep 42 million patients from starvation, including the 60 percent of SNAP beneficiaries who are children and seniors, in an attempt to pressure Democrats into caving on a spending bill to end the second-longest government shutdown in U.S. history without securing health care protections for working people.

"No parent should ever have to choose between paying for food, health care, or housing for their family just because Republicans have decided to use our patients as pawns," said National Nurses United (NNU) President Mary Turner, RN. "Our patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease, shouldn't have to suddenly lose all ability to manage their symptoms through diet - because they can't even afford food. This is a five-alarm fire! The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are putting millions and millions of lives at risk."

Under previous administrations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, has operated under the assumption that SNAP's benefits can continue to be paid out during a shutdown due to its multi-year contingency funds. The current USDA under Trump claims that it cannot legally use its contingency funds to cover regular benefits. Nurses are appalled that the Trump Administration would rather interrupt SNAP for the first time in its 60-year history in an attempt to blame Democrats for the shutdown instead of ensuring food aid gets to the millions of people who rely on it.

The public health emergency sparked by SNAP cutoffs will be compounded by the public health emergency that occurs when more than 20 million patients will see their health insurance premiums skyrocket, as open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) health care marketplace begins Nov. 1. Thanks to Republicans stealing nearly $1 trillion from Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA, and giving that funding to ICE and to billionaire tax cuts, through H.R. 1, more than 15 million people are set to lose health care coverage by 2034. And because Republicans are refusing to extend enhanced tax credits, ACA marketplace premiums are set to more than double, on average, for 2026. Altogether, these changes will result in more than 51,000 preventable deaths annually.

Nurses across the country are clear that opening the government now without a health care deal will leave patients scrambling to figure out how to afford their health insurance, and they know the Trump administration could act now to ensure SNAP recipients receive their much-needed benefits while Congress works to pass a fair funding bill.

"Billionaires should not be celebrating cuts to their taxes while millions of patients are facing cuts to their lifespan," said Turner. "When patients can't afford health care coverage, they will skip appointments, treatable conditions will become chronic, our patients will die. We may not catch the next pandemic in time. In the richest country on earth, we should be funding Medicare for All and ensuring all patients have affordable food, not gutting public health protections so the world's richest men can enrich themselves even further off working people's backs."

"Our whole society suffers when the federal government prioritizes the profits of a handful of billionaires over the health and safety of millions of people," said Turner. "Reopening the government without addressing the impending health care crisis will be absolutely devastating. The Trump Administration is attempting to bully Democrats into choosing between funding for health care and food - while Republicans continually refuse to show up with real solutions. Workers won't fall for their bad faith negotiations, and we strongly urge every senator to stand firm and continue fighting for a funding bill that benefits all working people."

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.