Health Care

“People over profits” was the dominant theme Tuesday afternoon on the South Lawn of the Connecticut State Capitol as several hundred people gathered to protest proposed cuts to Medicaid funding.

The rally, hosted by the CT State Independent Living Centers, was part of a nationwide day of action by members of Congress that brought together state and federal leaders, healthcare workers, advocates, and Medicaid recipients, all warning of the consequences should Congress approve drastic reductions to the program’s funding.

Joining with protestors nationwide, advocates chanted and shouted Tuesday outside the state Capitol in Hartford to protest against cuts in the Medicaid health insurance program.

Democrats rallied outside the state Capitol in Hartford on Tuesday in a coordinated national  “day of action” aimed at heading off what they say are inevitable cuts to Medicaid as the Trump administration and Republicans move to extend provisions of the 2017 tax cut law.

The White House insists that Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are off limits, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that $880 billion in spending cuts sought by House Republicans are impossible without deep cuts to the social safety net.

Gov. Ned Lamont joined leading state Democrats for a rally at the State Capitol warning against possible cuts to Medicaid funding.

President Donald Trump has insisted that he does not intend to cut Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security funding. But Democrats argue that cuts are inevitable if Republicans in Washington are serious about fulfilling their campaign promises to drastically reduce federal spending at the same time as they seek to renew sweeping tax cuts from Trump’s first term.

Connecticut leaders and healthcare advocates gathered at Charter Oak Health Center to denounce proposed Medicaid cuts they say will devastate the state’s most vulnerable residents.

The federal plan to slash up to $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade coincides with efforts to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent, a move critics argue would benefit the wealthy while forcing deep reductions in healthcare funding.