Gov. Maura Healey says GOP tax cuts would ‘devastate’ programs, put 2 million at risk of losing health care

This article was originally published on the Berkshire Eagle.

BOSTON — Tax breaks that U.S. House Republicans outlined in a budget blueprint could “devastate” a slew of government programs, Gov. Maura Healey said Wednesday, and Medicaid cuts would put nearly 2 million state residents at risk of losing health care coverage.

“Democrats should be using every tool at their disposal,” she said in response to a question about resisting Republican initiatives.

The House budget resolution approved Tuesday night still needs to be hashed out in committees and in Senate negotiations before Congress votes on a final version.

“I mean, I don’t know how much worse it needs to get,” Healey told reporters after speaking at an event. “The $4.5 trillion tax cuts proposed by House Republicans are going to devastate — are going to devastate so many people, are going to wipe out so many programs, and are going to have a far-reaching impact, not just on the people who are going to lose their health care, who are going to lose their food programs, their housing.”

The budget resolution would extend expiring tax cuts from Trump’s first administration, which would total $4.5 trillion. The resolution could also translate into $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid, as Republicans look to rein in “unsustainable spending.”

Republican leaders say their budget would grow the economy by $2.6 trillion over the next decade, save $829 billion in “discretionary spending,” extend Trump’s “signature tax cuts,” and boost funding for border security and national defense.

Healey said her team examined the the budget resolution.

“We took a look at it as a team, just so you know, if that were to be passed, in our state alone, 2 million residents, including 700,000 children and 200,000 seniors, would lose health care,” she said.

Healey’s fiscal 2026 budget included more than $16 billion in federal revenue, with the bulk tied to Medicaid.

“Health care costs would double for more than 300,000 residents who use the Health Connector marketplace, and 1.2 million kids and families who rely on food assistance would have that taken away at a time when grocery prices are high and only getting higher,” Healey said at the chamber event. “So these kinds of cuts are immense. They’re going to cause unnecessary suffering.”

Addressing 700 business leaders, Healey asked, “Who do you think’s going to pay for that?”

“What’s going to happen to health care premiums? What’s going to happen to our health care system, health plans, and all the workers and businesses who depend on that when that federal funding goes away?” the governor continued.

As the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee dove into the budget resolution on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal invoked recent polling that found more than 80 percent of Americans “find it unacceptable to gut Medicaid to pay for billionaire giveaways.” Most of those people are Trump supporters, the congressman said.

“You’d think all this outcry would give our colleagues some pause. But you’d be wrong,” Neal said. “Instead, Republicans are doubling down on ignoring the American people’s fears by pursuing an agenda that could cut Medicaid by $880 billion and SNAP by $230 billion, while at the same time handing out a $1.1 trillion giveaway to those making over $743,000. The richest 1 percent.”