‘The consequences will be devastating:’ Pritzker, local Democrats speak out about proposed Medicaid cuts

CHICAGO — Governor JB Pritzker and local Democratic gathered Friday to speak out after Republicans in the U.S. House voted on a proposed plan that could cut Medicaid spending.

Ralph Bielarski, who lives in a senior building on the Near West Side, said he has his share of medical battles.

“I gotta get my gallbladder taken out next month, I got blood clots in my legs,” Bielarski said.

Because of his health issues, Bielarsk said he is often in and out of the hospital.

“I just got released out of Rush a couple of days ago and they said, ‘Do you got Medicaid and all of that?’ and I go, ‘Yeah, yeah,'” Bielarski said.

On Friday morning, Pritzker, alongside several of the state’s Democratic congressional leaders, partnered with medical professionals at the UI Health Mile Square Health Center to advocate for saving the country’s Medicaid program.

“If Medicaid is cut, no state in the country has the money to backfill the billions of dollars in funding. It will be gone and the consequences will be devastating,” Pritzker said Friday.

Bielarski, who recently got two stints, which cost $97,000, agreed, saying his Medicaid and Medicare coverage was crucial.

“It’s the end of me man, I’ll be buried,” Bielarski said.

The push to save the program comes after U.S. House Republicans passed a budget resolution late Tuesday night, following pressure from President Trump.

The vote is a crucial step toward delivering what the president calls his “Big, beautiful bill,” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts, which could include trimming Medicaid.

“I supported this legislation as it serves as the blueprint for extending President Trump’s historic tax cuts, securing our southern border, bolstering our military, unleashing American energy, and setting us on a path toward responsible government spending for future generations. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created the best economy in my lifetime, yet many of the important changes made to the tax code expire at the end of this year,” Republican Congressman Darin LaHood, who represents Illinois’ 16th district, which includes Peoria and Rockford, said.

But U.S. Senator Dick Durbin disagreed, saying it was all part of a plan by the president to benefit the rich.

“If you get down to the bottom line of why Trump is doing this, it’s to generate a tax break for the wealthiest people in this country,” Durbin said.

Along with impacting more than 70 million Medicaid recipients, cuts to the government-funded healthcare program could impact hospitals and healthcare systems across the state that employ about 445,000 people.

Currently cuts to Medicaid have only been proposed and nothing is set in stone, there are still several steps lawmakers must take before any cuts take effect.