U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin believes healthcare will be the issue Democrats can push in order to fight back against the Trump administration.
Slotkin was in Benton Harbor Monday to share her “Economic War Plan for America,” saying to beat Trump and restore the country, Democrats are going to need to make people understand that things happening to them are a direct result of the president’s policies. She said cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in the Big Beautiful Bill will start to take effect with the new year, and in November, those getting insurance through the ACA will start to receive notices of premium increases. She added cuts to Medicaid, meanwhile, are going to cause employer-provided healthcare costs to go up as well.
“And when you get that letter, when it arrives in your postbox, I want you to understand that that increase to your private insurance is because of the cuts that Donald Trump has decided to make just in the past month here,” Slotkin said.
Slotkin said those increases could be 10% or 17%, but for families, the cost will be in the thousands of dollars per year. She also said cuts to renewable energy and food assistance programs included in the BBB will be felt by everyday Americans, and people need to know who’s responsible.
Slotkin’s strategy is to reach out to those who have been supporting Trump because they’re angry about the erosion of the middle class.
“We’ve got to acknowledge that that is the essential problem in America. We have a lot of problems, don’t get me wrong. But to me, this is the one that is going to be my life’s work because my state invented the middle class.”
Moving forward, Slotkin said the next fight in Washington will be in late September, when another government shutdown deadline will arrive. Republicans will need help to avoid one.
“They will need seven Democratic votes,” Slotkin said. “I have already been clear, particularly given the role of healthcare, that I will not be able to support their bill unless they do something to restore some of the cuts that they passed.”
That applies to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and medical research.
Slotkin called Trump an existential threat to the nation’s democracy, adding when you’re faced with a threat, you have to have a plan to respond. She said the Democrats were able to beat Trump on healthcare during his first term, when he tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and she believes they’ll be able to beat him on healthcare again.
