Lee derides Big Beautiful Bill’s Medicaid cuts: ‘People will lose their health care’

Democratic Rep. Susie Lee holds press confrence at Spanish Hills Wellness Suites in Las Vegas to highlight Medicaid cuts in GOP-backed megabill. (Photo: Jeniffer Solis)

Spanish Hills Wellness Suites is one of several nursing homes in Nevada that would be forced to reduce services for medically vulnerable patients who rely on Medicaid as a result of President Donald Trump’s domestic spending and tax cut bill.

Tuesday morning, the Senate narrowly cleared Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” which would cut $930 billion from Medicaid over the next 10 years, a major healthcare program that serves low income families and disabled people. The Senate version of the bill now goes back to the House for consideration as Congress attempts to meet Trump’s self-imposed July 4 deadline.

Under the bill, Nevada stands to lose about $590 million in federal Medicaid funding, resulting in more than 114,500 patients in the state losing healthcare coverage, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Following the Senate vote, Democratic Rep. Susie Lee toured the Spanish Hills Wellness Suites in Las Vegas to emphasize the devastating impact the proposed bill, if passed in its current form, would have on Nevada Medicaid patients.

“What it will do is have an impact of forcing facilities like this one and hospitals to shut their doors. We already have a health care shortage in our state, so this will only exacerbate it,” Lee said.

Spanish Hills Wellness Suites houses about 150 patients who need long-term and short-term care post-hospitalization; 70% of those residents rely on Medicaid to pay.

“These are long-term patients with chronic conditions who’ve been here for years,” said Jyesebelle Ocampo, the director of nursing for the facility. “That’s why they’re scared. If no one is paying, how can we operate?”

The Spanish Hills Wellness Suites is not unique. Nevada relies heavily on Medicaid. Approximately 800,000 Nevadans, or about 20% of the total population, are covered by the program.

“Medicaid is a foundational part of our health care system, with about 60% of Nevada nursing home residents relying on Medicaid to access the care that they need,” said Brett Salmon, president and CEO of Nevada Health Care Association.

The GOP-backed megabill would reduce access to long-term care services for people enrolled in Medicaid by reducing federal funds for nursing facilities. Long-term care providers in Nevada said those cuts could lead to reduced staffing and tightened eligibility requirements in long-term care facilities in the state.

Long-term care services are extremely expensive and are not typically covered by other health insurance programs. Medicaid is the primary insurer for long-term care nationwide, according to the health policy think tank KFF.

“Reductions in Medicaid would impact our ability to operate and care for our residents. It would strain our ability to retain staff, invest in care improvements and meet the growing demand for services that we provide our residents,” Salmon said.

Lee warned that reductions in Medicaid funding through the GOP-backed megabill could lead to significant funding cuts for nursing homes, including reduced services, increased costs for residents and their families, and even potential closures of facilities.

“It’s not just hospitals and nursing homes that will turn patients away or close down, but it jeopardizes hundreds of clinics that provide breast cancer screening, critical health care and so much more,” Lee said.

The largest source of federal Medicaid spending cuts under the Senate bill would come from stricter work requirements on beneficiaries, including people up to age 65. Another major provision would eliminate tax credits used to purchase Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace for those who do not meet work requirements.

Lee argued Republicans in Congress were pushing “the largest cuts to healthcare coverage in U.S. history” in order to give tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will add $3.3 trillion to the national debt.

“We’re literally asking our children, our grandchildren, to pay for these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans,” Lee said.

Medicaid is a major source of health care coverage for thousands in Nevada. The Affordable Care Act allowed states to opt into expanded Medicaid coverage in 2014. 

Prior to the Medicaid expansion, Nevada was among the states with the highest percentage of adults with no health insurance. With the expansion, Nevada’s uninsured rate dropped from 22% in 2012 to 10% in 2024, according to KFF.

“Most Americans have at least some connection to Medicaid, whether it be through health insurance, home health care, nursing home care, or coverage for a child,” Lee added.

On Sunday, before the Senate vote, the White House published a post repeatedly stating that the “big beautiful bill” will not cut Medicaid funding.

Vice President JD Vance, who cast the tiebreaking vote Tuesday to pass the Senate bill 51-50, said in social media posts the Medicaid cuts are “immaterial” compared to savings the bill would bring through expanding immigration enforcement.

Lee rejected those claims, calling the bill a “big bullshit bill.”

“It is a lie. When you cut $7 billion from the state of Nevada, trust me, people will lose their health care,” Lee said.