“We are all going to die”: Right-wing US Senator callously responds to concern over public healthcare cuts

Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ersnt faced heat from a crowd of her constituents as she defended proposed Medicaid cuts at a town hall meeting on Friday, May 30. When one of her constituents shouted that people would die without public healthcare coverage, Ersnt replied “well, we all are going to die,” resulting in outrage from the crowd.

Ernst has faced public backlash following this response, but the Iowa Senator has responded by doubling down on her remarks, ridiculing the negative reactions to her comments by filming a sarcastic apology video while walking through a cemetery.

In March, Republican leaders advised lawmakers from their party to avoid town hall meetings altogether as the Trump administration and Republican leadership pursue more and more unpopular policies. Republicans have been once again hounded by voters at town hall meetings across the US as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” makes its way through the legislature. The Act is the Republican Party’s broad-reaching domestic policy bill backed by Trump, and promises hefty cuts to Medicaid that could kick an estimated 7.6 million off of the largest public healthcare program in the country.

In addition to Ernst, Republican lawmakers Ashley Hinson of Iowa and Mike Flood of Nebraska faced considerable reproach from their constituents. At a town hall on Tuesday, May 27, constituents expressed their displeasure when Flood admitted that he did not read the full text of the “Big Beautiful Bill” and therefore did not agree with a provision that would make it harder for federal judges to enforce certain orders. Flood also faced criticism regarding Medicaid cuts in the bill, and the Representative responded by asking the audience, “do you want illegal immigrants to get tax-funded benefits?” The crowd responded with a resounding “yes,” to which Flood replied “I would say that is not the majority opinion of most Nebraskans, however. Next question.”

Undocumented immigrants are largely excluded from federal healthcare benefits, aside from emergency healthcare. According to Medicaid data from 2016, spending for Emergency Medicaid accounted for 0.4% of Medicaid spending for fiscal year 2023.

How the “Big Beautiful Bill” will defund Medicaid

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” includes USD 700 billion in proposed changes to Medicaid, the largest public healthcare program in the US which insures nearly 80 million people. A detailed report in the “Healthcare Law Blog” produced by the Sheppard Mullin firm outlines several key Medicaid changes outlined in the bill. These include additional work requirements, which would mandate an additional 80 hours of work, volunteering and/or attending school to maintain eligibility for the program, states reviewing Medicaid eligibility with double the frequency, provisions which restrict the ability of states to use taxes on healthcare providers to fund Medicaid, a pause on the implementation of rules designed to streamline Medicaid enrollment, and the implementation of increased document verification standards for Medicaid enrollment.

The bill also includes increased cost-sharing for those just above the poverty line, a proposal which will mean that low income people will need to pay more out-of-pocket for healthcare services.

Vast majority of people want no decrease in federal Medicaid spending

Medicaid, like Social Security, is one of the key social services in the US that can find support from people on all sides of the political spectrum. According to a February poll conducted by KFF, very few US adults would like to see a decrease in federal Medicaid spending – with only 33% of Republican voters wanting to see Congress decrease spending on the public healthcare program. Nearly all of those polled said that Medicaid is important to their communities, including 94% of Republican voters.

These poll numbers have been reflected in the ways that voters have confronted the Republican politicians who claim to represent them. An audience member at Joni Ersnt’s town hall meeting last week, Jen, confronted the Senator about those on Medicaid not earning enough to get by. “That is why they are on Medicaid and that is why they deserve Medicaid and the fact that you want to take that money and route it to people that make billions of dollars who have more money than anybody in this room together,” Jen said.