As Obamacare turns 16, advocates sound alarm on cuts

U.S. Representative Jennifer McClellan joined advocates and nonprofits in calling on her Republican colleagues to protect access to health care Monday, which marked the 16th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act.

“My Republican colleagues in Congress chose to make over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in order to pay for billionaire tax giveaways to Musk and Jeff Bezos,” the Virginia Democrat said during a press conference. “At a time when energy prices are skyrocketing because of Donald Trump’s war in Iran, grocery and housing prices are skyrocketing because of Trump’s tariffs and trade wars, too many people are having to choose which bills to pay and gambling that they won’t get sick or injured — but when they get sick and injured, they’re still going to show up at the hospital and the cost will go to the rest of us.”

Also known as Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act expanded health insurance coverage to over 40 million Americans by providing subsidies for private insurance and expanding Medicaid eligibility. However, Republicans voted to axe enhanced tax credits that help those with low or moderate incomes afford health insurance as part of last summer’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill.

The expiration of the refundable tax credits on Jan. 1 has already resulted in 25,000 Virginians terminating their coverage and 19,000 fewer enrollments this year compared to 2025. Laura Buller, a dog groomer in Charlottesville, Virginia, said she put many of her health concerns on the back burner until she obtained health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

“I believe without that assistance, I would have been hospitalized multiple times. I’d probably be in significant financial debt at this point due to the health issues,” Buller said. “But because the ACA was passed, I was able to get on insurance that was able to help me counter those issues early on."

Buller said her premiums have increased by $100 in the last year.

Patients are also bracing for cuts in Medicaid eligibility slated for 2027. According to the Congressional Budget Office, a new 80-hour-per-month work requirement will cause an estimated 5 million Medicaid recipients to lose coverage.

“Health care should not be a partisan issue,” McClellan said. “There are more people, states that Donald Trump won, who stand to lose their health insurance, so this shouldn’t be a Democrat or Republican issue.”

Kenda Denia, founder and executive director of Birth in Color, a nonprofit focused on Black maternal health care, said the cuts especially affect women who’ve benefited from the ACA’s coverage of prenatal, reproductive and cancer screening care.

“These cuts will force women to make impossible choices, choosing between groceries and doctors’ visits, between rent and prenatal care, and let’s remember, Medicaid covers one in five women who seek family planning services in this country, including contraception and essential GYN care,” Denia said. “If these cuts move forward, the consequences will be devastating.”

Provisions of the Big Beautiful Bill, which are under judicial review, would prohibit Medicaid funds for nonprofit organizations like Planned Parenthood that provide abortion care. Planned Parenthood also provides a plethora of care outside of abortion care, including testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and contraceptives. Virginia’s uninsured rate for adult women decreased from 16% to 8% after the ACA passed.

“Progress is never permanent unless we defend it, and today, we are facing a dangerous moment,” Denia said. “When access to care disappears, the maternal mortality crisis will only grow worse."

According to a report from Protect Our Care, a nonprofit focused on expanding health care coverage, the cuts will hurt women of color more than their white counterparts. Notably, noncitizens who have been in the country less than five years would lose Medicaid eligibility.

McClellan said the cuts are causing a ripple effect throughout the economy. In Virginia, three rural health care providers have shuttered, citing a decrease in Medicaid patients as the primary reason.

“I’m very concerned not only with the impact that it’s having on individuals who now either don’t have health insurance or can’t afford it, but in some of these areas where these providers are closing, they’re one of the largest employers,” McClellan said. “So now people are unemployed, and then they don’t have health insurance."

Democrats in Virginia’s legislative chambers are split on how much to provide in the state budget to offset the rising ACA marketplace premiums. The proposed Senate budget provides $200 million, while the budget passed through the House of Delegates would provide $79 million.

McClellan said the onus should be on the federal government, rather than state and local governments, to fill gaps in health care coverage and food assistance programs.

“We’re putting too much of a burden on our state and local governments, because Congress — congressional Republicans, specifically — decided it was more important that people who make over $500,000 a year should have a tax credit so they can buy a new boat,” the Virginia congresswoman said. “Their priorities are all wrong."