Do people realize the devastation that the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” just passed by Congress, will have on the health of the nation? Virtually terminating Medicaid means that roughly 16 million will not have health care. Medicaid was a lifeline for those with low or no incomes. It helped cover food, services for the disabled and veterans, medications, medical visits and hospitalizations.
The sick will no longer be able to afford to go to doctors or hospitals. It is predicted that many hospitals that rely on reimbursements for services in rural areas will close permanently.
Add to that the fact that the government is attempting to defund Planned Parenthood, which is the sole source of health care for many women (only about 4% of its funding is for abortion).
As if the above is not bad enough, we have vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy to deal with. In his position as director of health and human services, Kennedy is questioning the use of vaccines for all kinds of diseases, including polio, COVID-19 and measles. It is no surprise that measles has gone from virtually nonexistent to almost epidemic proportions in a few short months. He refutes medical experts and gets rid of scientists in the National Institutes of Health, who are looking for cancer cures, among other things.
So, yes, to quote Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, “We all are going to die.” But thanks to the “Big Beautiful Bill,” we will all die much sooner.
Julia Sperry
Hockessin
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
