Talking Points Published June 30, 2025 · 2 minute read
Talking Points: Trump is Bankrupting America’s Health Care
Blair Elliott, David Kendall, & Darbin Wofford
The GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will bankrupt America and bankrupt American families. Our recent polling shows Republicans are vulnerable on the economy because of Trump’s tariffs, enormous debt increases, and massive cuts to people’s health coverage, which can cost them their savings and their lives.
But just because Republicans are vulnerable does not mean that Democrats have capitalized—yet. Republicans will win the messaging battle if the prevailing narrative is about a middle-class tax cut to grow the economy. But Democrats have a stronger and more believable counternarrative: Trump will bankrupt us. He will bankrupt America by exploding the deficit and bankrupt American households by exploding costs.
Health care will play a big role in this message. Here are three ways that Democrats can show how Trump and Republicans plan to bankrupt America with their health care proposals:
- Families will go bankrupt from medical debt. As Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) highlighted in their recent letter to GOP leadership, health care coverage makes a difference in preventing medical debt. Under the Republican plan, 4 million more people will face bankruptcy from medical debt as they lose coverage, and medical debt will increase by $50 billion.
- Hospitals will go bankrupt from health care cuts. Trump’s plan to cut a trillion dollars from health care would force hospitals to the brink of bankruptcy or cut vital services like maternity care. Nationwide, more than 700 rural hospitals already face financial distress.
- The nation will go bankrupt without controls on health costs. The Republican plan cuts health care coverage but does nothing to cut the cost of health care that people are paying. Hospital prices are rising, medical inflation is rising faster than overall inflation, and Trump’s tariffs are increasing the cost of everything from pharmaceuticals to medical supplies. Republican attempts to cut financial protections in the Affordable Care Act will further raise costs for families who buy their own coverage.
The Republican plan will be a massive financial strain on the nation and each family. Health care is Exhibit A. Massive cuts to health care will put rural and safety net hospitals at risk of shuttering their doors and throw millions of families into medical debt—all while doing nothing to address rising health care costs.
