Durbin Slams Cancer Screening Cuts For Medicaid Patients In Republicans’ “Big, Beautiful” Budget Bill

Durbin Slams Cancer Screening Cuts For Medicaid Patients In Republicans' "Big, Beautiful" Budget Bill

CHICAGO-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today held a press conference at UI Health's Mile Square Health Center to discuss new research findings that show how Medicaid cuts from Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will reduce lifesaving cancer screenings for Illinoisans. Medicaid covers three million people in Illinois, including 1.5 million children. The program is responsible for two-thirds of seniors in nursing homes and it is a lifeline for hospitals and health clinics.

"The Republicans in Congress and President Trump achieved the largest cut to health care coverage in American history last summer when they passed their 'Big, Beautiful' budget bill," Durbin said. "A recent study from the University of Chicago determined that these Republican health care cuts will likely result in one million missed cancer screenings in just two years. By throwing Americans off insurance, Republicans in Congress have increased the risk that one million of our neighbors will not have their cancer caught early. This is their health care legacy."

Dr. Adrian Diaz, a surgical oncologist at the University of Chicago, published findings last month that the insurance coverage losses under OBBBA will result in an estimated 1.2 million missed lung, breast, and colorectal cancer screenings within two years. The OBBBA cuts $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending over the next decade, and Illinois is projected to face a $48 billion federal funding cut, or 19 percent-resulting in approximately 500,000 Illinoisans losing coverage.

"Every week, I sit across from patients and tell them they have cancer. And very often, that diagnosis starts with a screening test, a mammogram, a colonoscopy, that caught their cancer early enough for us to cure it," Dr. Diaz said. "Cancer screening is not luxury care. It is one of the most evidence-based and cost-effective tools in medicine. Yet the One Big Beautiful Bill cuts Medicaid funding and creates new barriers that will cause eligible patients to lose coverage. We should protect and strengthen Medicaid coverage, simplify eligibility, and fund cancer screening programs not create new barriers to care."

The numbers are likely conservative as Dr. Diaz's research focused only on the impact of two new eligibility restrictions that take effect in 2027: cumbersome work requirements on low-income adults who gained coverage under the ACA's Medicaid expansion that bury recipients in red tape and have been shown to have no impact on employment figures; and re-enrollment requirements every six-months through extensive documentation. OBBBA added other limitations, which were not measured by Dr. Diaz, such as reductions on provider taxes used to fund hospitals, and new $35 co-pays for most services.

"The latest annual report from the American Cancer Society shows that, for the first time in our nation's history, we have reached a 70 percent five-year survival rate across all cancers combined," said Dr. Pamela Ganschow, Director, University of Illinois Cancer Center. "Even more striking, the largest gains have been in some of our most advanced and historically fatal cancers, like lung cancer. This progress reflects decades of investment…it did not happen by accident. It happened because we invested in prevention, screening, early detection, treatment access, and survivorship care. Coverage made access to care possible. BUT we are now at risk of a serious backslide."

The OBBBA cancer screening cuts are not the only threat to public health. Last week, the Trump Administration announced plans to terminate $600 million in public health grants administered by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for four Democratic-led states: Illinois, California, Colorado, and Minnesota. The cuts targeted several core public health programs used for disease detection and monitoring, workforce development, HIV prevention and data collection, lead poisoning prevention, violence prevention, and chronic disease activities. The estimated $170 million in potential cuts to Illinois affect the Illinois Department of Public Health and Chicago Department of Public Health, as well as individual grants to Lurie Children's Hospital, University of Chicago, American Academy of Pediatrics, and community groups.

-30-