Sen. Bernie Sanders is sounding the alarm on plans that could boot 15 million people off Medicaid. He lines them up against tax perks for the wealthy, saying the whole thing just widens the gap as the shutdown grinds on.
This Vermont firebrand took to the Senate floor and his social feeds this week, ripping a possible shutdown fix as a “disaster” that hands goodies to corporations while leaving working folks in the dust.
With SNAP checks on ice and Medicaid bills piling up, Sanders connects the dots to larger Republican ideas that he sees as carving up health care to fatten up the elite — a theme he’s hammered since his early days calling out what he dubs a stacked deck.
The shutdown’s the longest in decades, and it’s got millions on edge. Picture 42 million relying on SNAP to put food on the table and 80 million counting on Medicaid for checkups and hospital runs.
A ton of those folks are in both camps — low-pay jobs and young kids. Sanders zeros in on a funding bill chugging through Congress, warning it sets up brutal Medicaid slashes in the budget ahead.
“That ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ would throw 15 million people off the health care they now have,” he warned, pegging it to maybe 50,000 avoidable deaths a year.
Then he flips to the tax side of the package: breaks that line the pockets of millionaires and mega-firms, adding $2 trillion to the debt over a decade, based on nonpartisan estimates.
📎 Related: Inside Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and Its Impact on Aid Programs
It’s classic Sanders. He’s been battling Medicaid trims since the ’90s, when Clinton’s welfare tweaks started cutting around the edges.
Fast-forward to Trump: the 2017 ACA rollback attempt would’ve axed coverage for 20 million people, including the 15 million added through Medicaid expansion.
Biden reversed part of that trend, slashing child poverty by nearly half through beefed-up SNAP and child tax credits — dropping the rate from 12.4% in 2019 to 5.2% in 2021, per Census data.
Sanders insists this new shutdown standoff is rolling those gains backward, accusing Republicans of holding aid hostage for giveaways to the wealthy.
In a fiery post on X, Sanders declared:
“No. I will not vote for a budget that doubles premiums. I will not vote for a budget that makes the largest cut to Medicaid in history. Democrats must not cave.”
It racked up over 129,000 views, igniting progressives and sparking debate among centrists backing a lighter version of the bill.
🔗 Also see: Senate Pushes Funding Bill to End Shutdown, Safeguarding SNAP and Medicaid
Eight Senate Democrats broke ranks to move it forward — earning Sanders’ “sellout” label. He said it tunes out the real cries from families.
The issue hits close to home.
In Vermont, one in four residents are on Medicaid. Shutdown holdups have hospitals waiting on reimbursements, some even halting care entirely.
Out in rural areas, that’s devastating.
“Every day delayed means more kids go hungry,” says Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “Untreated illnesses spike Medicaid costs.”
Her warning echoes Sanders’ plea to extend SNAP protections in any shutdown deal.
The poverty numbers are brutal.
Before Biden’s reforms, 10 million children lived in deep poverty; that fell 40% with SNAP boosts that added $90 per kid monthly during the pandemic.
But looming cuts could wipe out those gains.
KFF data projects a $1 trillion Medicaid reduction over ten years could drop 14 million people from coverage, including 5 million children, spiking the uninsured rate back to 2010 levels.
Sanders ties it all to the tax code: the 2017 Trump tax cuts handed the top 1% $50 billion a year, while stretching them out could cost $4.6 trillion, per the CBO.
The human side hits hardest.
Maria Lopez, a 38-year-old Ohio nurse, relies on Medicaid for her son’s diabetes care and SNAP for groceries.
Shutdown delays raised her pharmacy bill by $200 last month.
“Bernie’s spot on — this isn’t about budgets; it’s kids like mine choosing insulin or nothing,” she said at a food bank.
She’s not alone — 40% of SNAP households include immigrant or mixed-status families, meaning cuts ripple far beyond political labels.
For state-level struggles during the shutdown, read:
📎 How States Are Keeping SNAP and Medicaid Afloat During the Shutdown
Experts back Sanders’ warnings.
Georgetown’s Edwin Park calls the proposed Medicaid cuts “devastating,” undoing ACA gains that save 100,000 lives yearly.
“Tax breaks for billionaires while gutting Medicaid? It’s inequality on steroids,” Park said.
Republican leaders see things differently. Sen. John Thune calls the bill “fiscally responsible,” arguing SNAP work mandates encourage self-sufficiency.
Sanders isn’t just talking — he’s pushing legislation with 62 senators to extend SNAP beyond the shutdown.
His message stays sharp:
“This shutdown hurts real people — moms skipping meals, vets waiting for care. We can end it without selling out the vulnerable.”
With the House debating funding, Sanders ramps up the progressive push.
KFF polls show 65% of Americans oppose Medicaid cuts, but with the shutdown dragging on, 70% just want any fix.
For families like Lopez’s, time is running out.
Check SNAP eligibility on state websites or dial 211 for food aid — local groups are stretched thin but still helping.
Sanders sums it up:
“Wealthy tax dodgers get a pass; working families get the boot? Not on my watch.”
Midterms loom — and this fight could shape or shatter America’s safety nets heading into 2026.
