Senators Reed and Whitehouse rally against healthcare cuts

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Senator Jack Reed and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joined healthcare professionals and service providers at Providence Community Health Centers’ Prairie Avenue Health Center on Tuesday to discuss healthcare costs in response to the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Reed’s office said it estimates the “Big Beautiful Bill” will take about 15 million people off their health insurance over the next 10 years.

A spokesperson for Reed added that the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits were not extended and are expected to expire at the end of 2025.

In response, the senators joined other Democrats in supporting the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act, which would work to “repeal the health care cuts” in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits, according to Senator Reed.

At the rally, the senators said they are concerned about Medicaid cuts, which would total about $1 trillion over the next decade.

“When you start seeing the cumulative effects of people losing their insurance, or, as private insurance companies keep raising their rates dramatically, year after year after year, people are just going to say ‘can’t afford it, I’ll go to the emergency room, join the line around the block at the emergency room,'” Reed said.

“They’re trying to push the cuts past the election, but do you know who can’t ignore the cuts past the election? Providence Community Health Center can’t. Women and Infants can’t. Your mom or aunt’s or grandmother’s nursing home can’t,” Whitehouse said.

President Trump has repeatedly said he has no intent of cutting Medicaid and Medicare, but just eliminating fraud from those programs, including through work requirements.