Readers respond: Government shutdown and Medicaid cuts will cost lives

As an internal medicine hospitalist, I care for patients at their most vulnerable. I’ve witnessed families’ strength caring for loved ones and their despair when care becomes inaccessible.

COVID-19 revealed what system failure looks like: overwhelmed hospitals, exhausted staff, patients without options. We’re still recovering. Nearly 200,000 nurses left during the pandemic. Burnout remains dangerously high. Yet politicians have shut down the government and passed historic Medicaid cuts.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates 10 million Americans will lose insurance due to the One Big Beautiful Bill passed in July, including approximately $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade. Enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire this year, more than doubling premiums for marke