Washington, D.C. - Today, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) voted against the Republican plan to cut healthcare for millions of vulnerable patients under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to pay for tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations that don’t need them. The Republican plan would kick 13.7 million people off of their healthcare, according to a new analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. During the Energy and Commerce Committee’s consideration of the legislation, Rep. Peters introduced an amendment to save Medicaid for millions of needy Americans, which was rejected by the Republican majority. After the party line vote of 30 to 24 to advance the legislation at the end of the more than 26-hour committee meeting, Rep. Peters released the following statement:

“Not only is the Republican tax plan fiscally irresponsible, it is also unnecessarily cruel. Our country borrows $2 trillion every year just to keep the lights on. That number will only grow and add to our colossal debt if we don’t address it. But Republicans aren’t trying to reduce the debt, they are kicking people off their healthcare to lower taxes for the highest earners. If we allowed marginal taxes for people making more than $609,000 to go from 37 to 39.6 percent, where it was in 2017, we would generate an additional $402 billion in revenue over 10 years. Those people would pay a bit more in taxes, and we could avoid kicking millions of people off their healthcare.

“While the Republican majority prevailed today, I will not stop reaching across the aisle to convince my colleagues to change course. When this legislation comes before the Budget Committee, on which I also serve, I will continue to urge my colleagues who have preached fiscal conservatism to uphold their values and start a real conversation about how to address our unsustainable borrowing problem.”

Watch Rep. Rep. Peters’ opening statement against the Republican tax plan.

Read about Rep. Peters’ amendment to save Medicaid for millions of Americans.

Watch Rep. Peters call out Republican cuts to clean energy in favor of fossil fuels.

CA-50 Medicaid Facts:

• 156,100 people in the district rely on Medicaid for health coverage—that’s 20 percent of all district residents.
• 34,700 children in the district are covered by Medicaid.
• 17,700 seniors in the district are covered by Medicaid.
• 64,900 adults in the district have Medicaid coverage through Medicaid expansion—that includes pregnant women who are able to access prenatal care sooner because of Medicaid expansion, parents, caretakers, veterans, people with substance use disorder and mental health treatment needs, and people with chronic conditions and disabilities.
• At least five hospitals in the district had negative operating margins in 2022. These hospitals would be especially hard-hit by cuts to Medicaid. For example:
• Scripps Mercy Hospital had a negative 25.3 percent operating margin—and nearly 22 percent of its revenue came from Medicaid.
• Sharp Coronado Hospital had a negative 3.5 percent operating margin—and over 36 percent of its revenue came from Medicaid.
• University of California San Diego Medical Center had a negative 2.4 percent operating margin—and nearly 19 percent of its revenue came from Medicaid.
• There are 54 health center delivery sites in the district that serve 529,944 patients.
• Those health centers and patients rely on Medicaid—statewide, 69 percent of health center patients rely on Medicaid for coverage.
• Health centers will not be able to stay open and provide the same care that they do today, with more uninsured and underinsured patients. They are already operating on thin margins—in 2023, nationally, nearly half of health centers had negative operating margins.
• Medicaid cuts put health centers at risk, including:
• Family Health Centers of San Diego
• Neighborhood Healthcare
• North County Health Project
• San Diego American Indian Health Centers
• St. Vincent De Paul Village

Representative Peters is the co-author of the Fiscal Commission Act, legislation to create a bicameral, and open-doored commission to tackle our nation’s long-term debt, help us avoid automatic and across-the-board cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and secure a more prosperous future for our children.

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