Speaker Emerita Pelosi holds a Medicaid Day of Action press briefing alongside other Democratic lawmakers.
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NewsTranscript
00:30Good afternoon everyone, where we are today is in a great place, UCSF.
00:59We thank Dr. Joshua Adler of UCSF Health for hosting us today.
01:04Dr. Adler, thank you so much.
01:07We're also honored to have the Vice Chancellor.
01:10Where'd he go?
01:12Vice Chancellor?
01:18We'll introduce him when he comes in.
01:20It's a privilege to be joined here by Bay Area colleagues.
01:23What we are doing here today is part of a national initiative
01:28to protect Medicaid.
01:31This is everything to us because it's about the children,
01:35the children and their families.
01:37Many people think that Medicaid is just for children.
01:42That would be justification enough.
01:45That's a moral responsibility.
01:48But this Medicaid is a middle-class benefit
01:52because many families depend on it for long-term care
01:56for the seniors in their families.
01:58Veterans depend on it for disability.
02:01People with disabilities depend on it.
02:04Let me just talk to you about San Francisco.
02:07Republicans want to take $880 billion,
02:11that's billion with a B, for more in Medicaid cuts,
02:14which would rip away health care for millions of Americans,
02:19close hospital and nursing homes,
02:21and diminish the quality of care, the quality of care.
02:25Here in San Francisco, 100,000 people,
02:28including 21,000 children on Medicaid,
02:32are at risk of losing their health care.
02:35That means one out of every five children in San Francisco
02:39will lose health care.
02:40While Republicans choose to protect the wealthy and well,
02:43they want to take $800 billion so they can give a tax cut
02:48to the wealthiest people in America.
02:50Their previous tax cut, over 83% of the benefits
02:55went to the top 1%,
02:58adding $2 trillion to the national debt,
03:01so much for their fiscal soundness.
03:03Now, we're pledged to be two to three minutes each.
03:06I have more to say.
03:07But what I do want to say is that we're very blessed
03:11to be joined by our colleagues, and they are.
03:15They're going to self-introduce as we go along.
03:19But let me take the pleasure of saying how honored we are
03:22to have Senator Adam Schiff with us today,
03:25Kevin Mullen, who I've been honored to represent
03:28San Francisco with, the Chief of Sun,
03:31and a new member of Congress from across the day,
03:34a star affected from the start.
03:36And then we'll hear from Dr. Joshua Adler,
03:39Dr. Amy Carroll, Chanel Williams, Sasha Bittner,
03:43all of whom will introduce each other as we go along.
03:47I have the honor of presiding here today
03:50and co-sponsoring this event with Mike Thompson,
03:54who represents the northern part of, well, he says,
03:58the most beautiful district in America.
04:00We always compete for that honor.
04:03Now, Adam Schiff can claim total ownership of it all.
04:07But Mr. Thompson serves on the Ways and Means Committee,
04:11which has responsibility for Social Security and Medicare,
04:16and, by the way, something the Republicans
04:18have a site on as well.
04:20He's been a leader on all these issues.
04:23My honor to introduce Mike Thompson.
04:27Thank you very much.
04:32And I want to thank the hospital for hosting us here today.
04:36It's a beautiful venue.
04:37They do great work here,
04:39and we're appreciative to be able to be with you.
04:42And the speaker's right.
04:44We're here because of the children,
04:46but we're here because of health care also for all Americans,
04:51and we're here because this president
04:53and the Republicans in Congress want to decimate Medicaid.
04:58They say, no, they're not going to touch Medicaid.
05:01That is a bold-faced lie.
05:03The bill that they passed requires $880 billion in cuts
05:09from the Energy and Commerce Building.
05:12You cannot cut $880 billion without destroying Medicaid,
05:19and Medicaid, the destruction of Medicaid, will hurt everyone.
05:23One in every three patients in California
05:26is a Medicaid patient.
05:29All of this, these bad things that they're doing,
05:33is for one purpose,
05:35and that's to facilitate the tax cut
05:37for the richest people in the country.
05:40So they're going to decimate health care,
05:42they're going to hurt people,
05:44and they're going to do it to benefit
05:46the richest people in the country
05:48through bigger tax cuts.
05:50Now, a third of health care in California is Medicaid.
05:56You can't cut a third out of any health care organization
06:01without hurting not just the Medicaid recipients,
06:05but everyone else also.
06:07Only one of two things can happen with this type of cut.
06:11You either close the hospital or close the clinic,
06:14or you drastically reduce the services.
06:17So if you have a great insurance policy through your employer,
06:22or if you have a pocket full of gold
06:24and you want to buy health care on your own,
06:27you go to a hospital or a clinic that's had to cut services,
06:31it's not going to be available to you.
06:34So this hurts everyone.
06:36And it's going to cause tremendous problems
06:40with not only direct health care,
06:43but ancillary benefits as well.
06:46And it's going to cost more money.
06:48Medicaid pays for services for people who are disabled,
06:52for people who have other problems,
06:55addiction problems, abuse problems,
06:59and by dealing with that through the Medicaid budget,
07:05you keep them out of the criminal justice system.
07:08You do away with that,
07:10it's more expensive for taxpayers
07:13dealing with the criminal justice system.
07:17And I've got a constituent I met with just yesterday.
07:21She's very active, she's employed,
07:23and she lives by herself in her own home,
07:26and she has a wheelchair that was purchased by Medicaid.
07:30That goes away, she doesn't live in her own home,
07:33she doesn't have a job,
07:35and it's more expensive for taxpayers.
07:37This is a bad measure, and we need to speak out.
07:41We need to make sure our colleagues in red districts
07:44across the state understand this, and they speak out.
07:48This has to be solved.
07:50Our health care and the people who depend upon health care
07:53are going to take a tremendous hit.
07:55And it's my pleasure to introduce
07:58our newest California U.S. Senator,
08:01former House member, great friend, great legislator,
08:05great American, Adam Schiff.
08:07APPLAUSE
08:13Mike, thank you very much.
08:15Madam Speaker, thank you for bringing us together, both of you,
08:19to shed a light on what is being contemplated by the GOP right now,
08:23which would be absolutely devastating to health care around the country,
08:26and most particularly to states like California
08:29that have so many of our residents who utilize Medicaid
08:33and are reliant on it, or what we call here California Medi-Cal.
08:37And I want to pick up where Mike left off, and that is,
08:40I want to start with the already precarious position
08:44of health care providers in California.
08:46Hospitals throughout our state are barely struggling to survive.
08:51Many have had to close their doors.
08:54Others have had to curtail important services.
08:57In Madera, California, for example, the hospital is shut down.
09:01People may have already died
09:04because they can't get to a hospital on time.
09:06That hospital has plans to reopen.
09:08It will reopen, though, without a labor and delivery unit.
09:12This is another recurrent problem
09:14throughout much of the state of California.
09:16If California sees a massive cut to Medicaid,
09:22we are going to see a cascading set of closures of hospitals and clinics,
09:26a lack of access for people.
09:28It will be devastating, and those that will be most hurt
09:32will be a lot of poor kids.
09:34It will be a lot of seniors.
09:36It will be a lot of veterans.
09:37It will be a lot of people with disabilities.
09:39It will be just devastating.
09:42And when you consider what they want to make these cuts for,
09:47it's all the more devastating
09:50because they want to take that $880 billion that Mike talked about.
09:54They want to take that money and more,
09:57and they want to use it to fund a tax cut for corporations and really wealthy people.
10:02That's what it's all about.
10:04All of these doge cuts to essential services,
10:08this slash and burning of the services that Californians rely on,
10:16it's all with one objective,
10:18and that is to find the money to fund a massive tax cut
10:22for rich people and large corporations.
10:25And if it means that that pregnant mother doesn't have a hospital to go to
10:29for labor and delivery, too bad for her.
10:32If it means someone with asthma can't get to hospital on time
10:36or can't get the treatment, too bad for them.
10:40It means if a senior is reliant on Medicaid
10:44to stay in a skilled nursing facility, too bad for them.
10:50And that might be easy to say if you're Elon Musk
10:53and you're the world's richest man and you can go elsewhere.
10:57But for all the rest of America, it would be just terrible news.
11:03We're going to do everything we can to fight this
11:09because, literally, lives are on the line.
11:13There's no question that if they go through these cuts,
11:17that they're contemplating that we're going to see people dying because of it,
11:24all for this tax cut for folks who are already doing really well.
11:29So we're going to fight this,
11:31and I'm grateful that we are here today shining a spotlight
11:37on what they're attempting to do
11:39because they would much prefer to do this in the darkness.
11:41With that, let me introduce Kevin Mullen,
11:44a great representative from the Bay Area
11:47who represents my old neck of the woods in the East Bay,
11:51and thank you for your great service.
11:53Thank you so much, Senator.
11:58Madam Speaker of Merida, thank you so much for convening us today.
12:01I am Congressman Kevin Mullen,
12:03proud to represent the 15th Congressional District, San Mateo County,
12:06and the southeastern portion of San Francisco.
12:09Recently, I had to be hospitalized for 10 days unexpectedly
12:13after developing a bad infection
12:15following what was supposed to be a routine knee surgery.
12:19The truth is, none of us know
12:21when we will have the need for urgent medical care.
12:25I was so very fortunate to have health insurance,
12:28but I can't even imagine what my family would be facing right now
12:32in unexpected medical costs if we hadn't.
12:36It is utterly shameful that the Trump administration
12:39and Republicans want to strip away health care and Medicaid
12:42from millions of Americans
12:44just so they can fund a tax cut for millionaires.
12:47That is the policy choice that they are making.
12:50Just last week, a 7-year-old woman in San Mateo County
12:54called my office afraid.
12:56My caseworker said you could hear the fear in her voice.
13:00She'd worked as a house cleaner for 42 years
13:03and was recently diagnosed with lupus.
13:06She's paid taxes her entire life,
13:08needs Medicaid, we call it Medi-Cal, of course,
13:11for her health care,
13:13and Social Security, which Elon Musk has called a Ponzi scheme, by the way.
13:17She needs that to survive.
13:19She's now worried that Republicans' proposed cuts
13:23will result in her being unable to afford rent, bills, or food.
13:28This is who we are fighting for.
13:31As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
13:33I will be doing everything in my power,
13:36and our Democratic colleagues will as well,
13:38to push back and protect Medicaid, Social Security,
13:42and the programs people need to survive in this country.
13:45And we will push back against the fiscal straitjacket
13:48that the Republicans want to put on vital services in this country.
13:53And with that, it is my honor to bring up a rising star,
13:57our Rookie of the Year from the East Bank,
14:00the Honorable Congresswoman Latifah Sanders.
14:08Thank you all. Thank you, Congressman.
14:11I want to first and foremost thank my mentor.
14:15I can say she's the mentor of everyone on this panel.
14:18The Honorable Speaker of New York is Nancy Pelosi,
14:21for gathering us all here today to focus on children.
14:26Just a few minutes ago,
14:28we walked out of the emergency room,
14:30the children's emergency room at this wonderful hospital.
14:34It was a sight to see.
14:36There is a room that was constructed
14:38where an ambulance bay leads directly to a code room.
14:44For the parents who are bedside to their children in this hospital
14:49who had to go through that code room,
14:51you know the smells and the sounds of that room.
14:54There are physician scientists here
14:56who have dedicated over 30 years of their adult lives training
15:00to be there for when those children come in near death.
15:04And they do whatever they can to save them.
15:08The hundreds of families who are right now in our children's hospital,
15:12just feet away from this room,
15:15the members of the Democratic Party,
15:18those who are sitting here, standing here with you today,
15:20we have pledged one thing and one thing solely,
15:23to tell your story.
15:25That children who are living and struggling with cancer
15:29deserve absolute care.
15:31They deserve treatment.
15:33They deserve clinical trials
15:35that will bring them more years into adulthood.
15:38We have an administration now, this is not hyperbole,
15:42that is proposing cruel cuts,
15:46not just to the poor, but to the working and middle class.
15:50If your child has a devastating illness,
15:53we want to make sure that you know that there is someone,
15:57there is a crew of us, and we have your back.
16:00Every single day in my district and here, right in San Francisco County,
16:04tens of thousands of folks are utilizing Medicaid to be healthier.
16:09These proposed cuts will make us a sicker California,
16:13a poor California.
16:16But the attack is on the elderly and on the children.
16:21We will not let this stand.
16:24Children's Hospital of San Francisco and Children's Hospital of Oakland,
16:27they need to be applauded.
16:28They need more and not less.
16:31Young people in the Bay Area and throughout the nation,
16:33I want you all to know this is not about red or blue,
16:37or about who your parents voted for.
16:39We are challenging all of us to fight for all of us.
16:44As someone who grew up in this city, and lastly I'll say,
16:47I went to summer camp with Sasha, who will be speaking today.
16:51We went to a summer camp for disabled children
16:54called National Association for the Visually Impaired.
16:56And boy oh boy, did we as disabled children love the fact
17:00that our parents fought for programming for us.
17:02I also grew up with Chanel Williams.
17:04We fought on these streets here in San Francisco
17:06to make sure that children who were trafficked got healthcare.
17:10The Trump administration is taking away opportunities
17:13for young people to live full lives.
17:15We will not stand for that.
17:17Thank you, Ms. Pelosi, for having us today.
17:25We'll now hear from our host, Dr. Adler.
17:29Good afternoon.
17:32I'd like to thank, on behalf of UCSF,
17:34thank the entire congressional delegation
17:36for your leadership in supporting and preserving Medicaid.
17:41It is so critical to the mission that all of us at UCSF
17:46and our patients pursue.
17:50Your leadership to preserve Medicaid is critical
17:52to the health and well-being of over 100,000 current UCSF health patients
17:58and millions of Californians.
18:00Medi-Cal is the lifeline for over 14 million Californians
18:04providing essential healthcare for children, pregnant women,
18:08seniors, and people with disabilities.
18:11UCSF Health is the largest provider of hospital care
18:15for Medi-Cal, or Medicaid, patients in San Francisco.
18:21Currently, over 70% of UCSF's inpatient care
18:26is delivered to publicly insured patients,
18:29roughly evenly split between Medicare and Medicaid.
18:33Last year alone, 58% of our emergency department patients
18:38and 35% of our inpatient population
18:40depended on Medicaid coverage for the essential care that they received.
18:45The proposal in Congress to cut approximately $880 billion from Medicaid
18:49would severely weaken the healthcare system
18:52that millions of Californians rely on
18:54for high-quality primary care and secondary care,
18:58while increasing the uncompensated care costs for hospitals
19:01that are already financially stressed, as was already mentioned.
19:06As a physician, I've seen firsthand the profound positive impact
19:12that Medicaid coverage has on our patients and our communities,
19:16and simultaneously know the negative impact that would occur
19:20by eliminating that coverage.
19:23Significant cuts to Medicaid would undermine
19:26the entire healthcare system in California
19:28and weaken its capacity to provide care to all patients.
19:34At UCSF Health, we serve all patients from our community and region
19:38regardless of their ability to pay,
19:40many of whom rely on Medi-Cal to access the high-quality specialty care
19:45that's unique to UCSF Health,
19:47including transplant services, congenital heart surgery for children,
19:52complex neurosurgery, and specialized cancer care,
19:55just among the few.
19:58Medi-Cal payments allow UCSF to preserve and expand services
20:02to vulnerable populations.
20:05It is now my honor to introduce Dr. Amy Harrell,
20:08the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Medical Officer
20:11for Providence Cuyahoga Valley Medical Center.
20:14Hello. I want to thank you for allowing me to come here
20:24and share my experience.
20:26As was mentioned, I'm Dr. Amy Harrell.
20:28I'm an OBGYN physician.
20:30I'm also the Chief Administrative Officer
20:33and the Chief Medical Officer for Providence Cuyahoga Valley Medical Center
20:36in Napa, California, about an hour north of here.
20:39When people hear Napa,
20:41they think of a glamorous, touristy destination,
20:44which it is on the surface.
20:46But when you peel back those layers at our heart,
20:48we're a farming community.
20:49We're a service community.
20:51We're a rural community.
20:52We are considered rural.
20:55In my hospital, where I still take home and deliver babies,
20:59we have 75% of our patients that are government payers.
21:03About 45% are Medicare, and over 30% are Medi-Cal or Medicaid.
21:09That goes up to over 50% when you look at our pregnant ladies having their babies,
21:13including the one I delivered two days ago.
21:15We have over 50% of our patients in the emergency department,
21:19very similar to the numbers that Dr. Adler shared with UCSF.
21:23Our payer mix is approximately the same.
21:25And when we look at these proposed cuts,
21:28this would be devastating for the hospital.
21:3075% of my payer mix is government-insured payers.
21:35Our health system was founded by nuns.
21:38I don't say that because you have to be a certain religion to work at our hospital.
21:42You don't have to be any religion to get amazing care at our hospital.
21:45But they had tenacity, and they started these hospitals.
21:49Our health system was started in Eureka, California.
21:52They originally were starting schools,
21:54and they transitioned to healthcare during the Spanish flu.
21:57And those nuns had nothing, and they started hospitals because they saw a need.
22:02That legacy has lived.
22:04It has lived through multiple generations, ebbs and flows of good times and bad.
22:09But we made it through COVID,
22:11and we made it through that second pandemic in 100 years.
22:15And I would be devastated to see healthcare that has struggled through so many ups and downs be dismantled
22:21after going through everything we did and surviving what we did to be dismantled by this.
22:26So, in my facility, if we lose government payer and the government funding,
22:33we will have to close services.
22:35I am the only hospital in the county that has a trauma center.
22:38I am the only hospital in the county that has a labor and delivery.
22:41Even ones in counties nearby have shut down.
22:44If these services close in my hospital, there will be a healthcare desert.
22:48So not only do the people that are on Medi-Cal, Medicaid, not have access to care,
22:53but anyone, regardless of your insurance status, will not have access to care if I have to close my programs.
23:00This is what keeps me up at night.
23:02Our founding promise was we will take care.
23:04It's in our mission statement.
23:05We take care of the poor and the vulnerable.
23:08That is what we do.
23:09That is the legacy of what we do.
23:10It means we have slim margins to operate on in order to be able to do that.
23:14We don't turn people away.
23:16I'm grateful for my colleagues at UCSF that when they have conditions that are past our scope of care
23:21in a community hospital, they accept my patients, regardless of their insurance status.
23:26If that is lost, that will be critically devastating to the infrastructure of healthcare for everyone,
23:31regardless of your insurance status.
23:33If you need life-saving care, you don't want to have to wait two hours to be transferred to another facility.
23:39You want that healthcare available in your community.
23:42So I graduated from medical school, I hate to admit this, over 20 years ago,
23:47and when I got my long white coat, we had to take our Hippocratic Oath,
23:51and we had to promise to do no harm.
23:53And I'm begging this administration to please do no harm
23:56and take care of the American people that you are responsible for.
24:05I have the honor to introduce Chanel Williams.
24:13Well, good afternoon, everyone, and thank you so much for everyone being here.
24:16It's my honor to serve as the Executive Director of our Viki Coalition for Healthy Wellness
24:21right here in San Francisco, California.
24:23I'm here to speak on behalf of thousands of black San Franciscans
24:27who will bear the brunt of these proposed Medicaid cuts.
24:30Medicaid is not just a program, but it's a lifeline for our community.
24:34Here in San Francisco, over 35% of black residents rely on Medicaid for access to doctors,
24:41medication, mental health services, and preventative care.
24:45I have family members who have been on Medicaid as well.
24:48We have spent, at Rafiki, 40 years fighting for black health equity.
24:53The city funds us to provide critical, culturally responsive care to those who need it most,
24:59low-income families, seniors, teens, those who are black mothers and babies,
25:05those who need it most.
25:07Medicaid programs were made to advance health equity
25:10and address health disparities, the key priority.
25:13These cuts would increase our caseload
25:15while stripping away the very resources our community relies on.
25:19Of course, this would be devastating.
25:21So what will these cuts do?
25:23They will worsen health disparities.
25:25Black San Franciscans already experience higher rates of preventable illnesses and premature death.
25:31These cuts will increase deaths from chronic diseases.
25:34Black residents are twice as likely to die from diabetes
25:37and suffer higher rates of hypertension and heart disease.
25:41Medicaid cuts will limit access to prescriptions, specialist care, and life-saving treatments.
25:47It will increase maternal and infant deaths.
25:49Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
25:55Medicaid covers 40% of black births in California.
25:59Cuts will mean fewer prenatal visits, more birth complications, and increased infant mortality.
26:05It will impact our mental health and vertebral health crisis that we're already in.
26:09Black communities face higher levels of stress, trauma, and mental health struggles,
26:14yet are half as likely to receive mental health treatment due to stigma and lack of access.
26:19And we know Medicaid Medi-Cal is the largest funder of mental health and substance abuse services,
26:24which Rafiki provides.
26:26Cuts will force more people into crisis, into homelessness, and incarceration instead of treatment.
26:32At Rafiki, we provide culturally responsive therapy and wellness programs to support black mental health.
26:37With fewer Medicaid-covered services, our clients will have nowhere to turn,
26:41increasing demand on our already limited resources.
26:44We already know the economic impacts that this will cause, more medical debt to our community.
26:49So since 1986, Rafiki Coalition, we've been a leader in community-centered health for San Francisco's black population.
26:56With our early roots in the AIDS and HIV crisis and prevention,
27:00we have been a critical voice and advocate for black communities for decades.
27:04Today, we offer robust services to meet the growing and urgent needs of black San Franciscans,
27:09reaching thousands of community members with holistic health care and education.
27:14And we are one of the few black-led organizations here in San Francisco
27:18providing no-insurance, needed, free and low-cost care to thousands of residents.
27:23If Medicaid funding is cut, more uninsured black San Franciscans will come to Rafiki seeking help,
27:29but we won't have the resources to meet the growing demand.
27:34Our programs, maternal wellness, chronic disease management, mental health therapy, and holistic healing
27:39will struggle to operate without adequate funding.
27:43And San Francisco's black-serving clinics could be forced to reduce services or shut down altogether.
27:50We have four clinics that we operate at Rafiki, leaving even fewer options for our community.
27:55So this is our demand for action. This is a crisis.
27:58Medicaid cuts are an attack on black health, black families, and black futures.
28:02And we know that these cuts will widen racial health disparities,
28:05they will drive black families deeper into financial hardship,
28:09and they will overburden organizations like Rafiki Coalition, limiting our ability to serve our community.
28:15So we are counting on our leaders from San Francisco to Sacramento to Washington, D.C.
28:20to reject these cuts and protect Medicaid funding.
28:23Black health is not negotiable.
28:25Thank you so much.
28:33It's my honor to introduce Sasha Bittner from the San Francisco Disability and Aging—
28:37to the San Francisco Disability and Aging Commission. Sasha.
28:41Good afternoon.
29:03Good afternoon.
29:05My sister-in-law.
29:07My sister-in-law.
29:09My sister-in-law.
29:11My sister-in-law.
29:13My sister-in-law.
29:15My sister-in-law.
29:17My sister-in-law.
29:19My sister-in-law.
29:21My sister-in-law.
29:23My sister-in-law.
29:25My sister-in-law.
29:27My sister-in-law.
29:29My sister-in-law.
29:31My sister-in-law.
29:33My sister-in-law.
29:35My sister-in-law.
29:38With a speech disability.
29:49Oh, and a vision disability, as well
29:54as a result of cerebral palsy.
29:57I was born to a poor, single, teen mother.
30:00And while she made the choice to give birth,
30:02that involved a tremendous sacrifice of her own life plans.
30:05especially when it became clear I was severely disabled.
30:08When I was just three years old,
30:10the doctor told my mother
30:11I would never be able to do much of anything.
30:13But with a great deal of help from my mom and others,
30:16I proved that doctor wrong.
30:18The support of Medicaid has been critical to my success.
30:22I relied on Medicaid funding
30:24for the home and community-based caregiving support
30:27that enabled me to live a full and productive life
30:29in the community,
30:30instead of in an institution or nursing home.
30:34I was able to attend and graduate from UC Berkeley
30:37because I had someone getting me up each morning,
30:39dressing me, taking me to the bathroom, and so on.
30:42And with that help,
30:43I was also able to provide disability awareness programs
30:46to thousands of students in the Bay Area.
30:49I'm currently a member
30:50of the National Council on Disability,
30:52previously chaired the California State Council
30:54on Developmental Disabilities.
30:56And last year, the governor appointed me
30:58to the Master Plan on Developmental Disabilities Committee.
31:01I also serve on the Disability
31:03and Aging Services Commission in San Francisco,
31:05and participate in numerous
31:07other community service activities.
31:09The reason I'm able to live such a constructive life
31:12is because of the critical assistance I receive every day
31:15from home care providers funded by Medicaid.
31:20Medicaid has not only been essential
31:22for the caregiving I require,
31:24but also for my medical care.
31:26My entire life, Medicaid has helped pay for my healthcare,
31:29related services, surgeries, wheelchairs,
31:32and other medical equipment.
31:33In 2013, I was at the Parnassus Hospital of UCSF
31:37for five months being treated for lymphoma,
31:39and I experienced many serious complications
31:41related to my disability.
31:43If there had been a cap on Medicaid,
31:45my family would have gone bankrupt,
31:47or I could have just died.
31:48For many of us, a Medicaid cap is an actual death sentence.
31:53Medicaid has been critical to my ability
31:54to live a full and productive life.
31:57For those who profess
32:00to be pro-life,
32:03please note
32:05that my life
32:08did not end
32:11when I left the womb.
32:14There are disabled
32:18children,
32:20elderly,
32:22and other vulnerable people
32:27like me
32:30who depend on
32:33Medicaid.
32:36And the Republican
32:39plan
32:42to gut
32:45this crucial support
32:48as an attack
32:51on our very lives.
32:55Thank you very much.
33:14As you can see, Sasha is always an inspiration to us.
33:17We learn so much from her,
33:19and also we were so proud
33:21that she graduated from UC Berkeley.
33:24Not everybody can make that point.
33:26Sasha Braun was with us earlier.
33:28We thank her sister-in-law
33:30for participating
33:32in the presentation.
33:34Thank all of our...
33:36As you heard from our...
33:38from Chanel and from Sasha,
33:40who are right there working with people directly,
33:43this has such an impact
33:45immediately on people's lives.
33:47I heard from Dr. Harold
33:49and Dr. Adler
33:51in terms of the big picture
33:53of what it means to institutions
33:55who make, who serve and meet
33:57the needs of these people.
33:59This is about our values as a country.
34:01Our budget
34:03should be a statement of our national values.
34:05What is important to us
34:07should be reflected in that budget.
34:09But what we see now
34:11is an assault
34:13on our values
34:15as they make this assault
34:17on our budget
34:19of $800 billion
34:21coming out of Medicaid.
34:23But we don't agonize.
34:25We organize.
34:27And this day, today,
34:29we have scores of events across the country
34:31starting in New York
34:33and across the country.
34:35And we'll have them tomorrow
34:37and the next day and the next day
34:39and the beat will go on.
34:41And Chanel, when you talked about
34:43the impact on the black community,
34:45our inspiration has been Dr. King
34:47and Dr. King's heart.
34:49Dr. King said of all forms of injustice
34:51and inequity,
34:53what is happening with healthcare
34:55is the most inhuman
34:57because people could die.
34:59With that,
35:01our co-chair of this event,
35:03Mr. Thompson and I would be happy to take questions
35:05as will our guests as well.
35:07We'll do the on-topic questions first.
35:09So,
35:11I know that this is something
35:13you held at events just a couple weeks ago
35:15and we have to have people aware of this.
35:19This has come up as a budget resolution
35:21that a couple of your senatorial colleagues
35:23actually supported.
35:25So, what should voters do?
35:27What can people actually do
35:29about what's coming next?
35:31I don't know if anyone
35:33wants to answer the question,
35:35but what I would say is
35:37when we are operating in the Congress,
35:39our inside maneuvering
35:41can just go so far.
35:43It's the mobilization
35:45that makes the difference.
35:47So, what we are doing today with the drumbeat
35:49across America,
35:51with the impact of the statements
35:53you've heard today, not from us,
35:55but from others who are
35:57at the mercy of or delivering
35:59services to those at the mercy of,
36:01that drumbeat
36:03is really important.
36:05And what we want our Republican colleagues
36:07to do is to hear it
36:09from their own constituents.
36:11Nothing is more eloquent to a member of Congress
36:13than the voice of his or her own constituents
36:15or the Republican members.
36:17Like in California, there's one member
36:19we have about 800,000
36:21people in our district.
36:23Not many more.
36:25He has 500,000
36:27people on Medicaid
36:29who want his constituents
36:31to tell them what it means to them.
36:33Who is that?
36:35You know, as
36:37the Bulletin has reminded us
36:39often,
36:41public sentiment is everything.
36:43With it, you can do anything.
36:45Without it, you can't do anything.
36:47I think somebody else said that too, but
36:49I'm going to attribute it to
36:51my heroine,
36:53Speaker Pelosi.
36:55And the inverse is true.
36:57If your constituents are outraged
36:59and speaking out,
37:01you hear that.
37:03And as the Speaker said, we have a colleague,
37:05a Republican colleague, who voted
37:07for this stuff, who has the biggest
37:09Medicaid population
37:11in the country.
37:13He needs to hear from his constituents.
37:15Every red
37:17district needs to speak up.
37:19This is
37:21absolutely tragic.
37:23If this were to go through,
37:25health care is going to be devastated.
37:27That particular
37:29member of Congress, like myself,
37:31represents a big rural
37:33area. This is a huge
37:35hammer on rural
37:37health care. It will
37:39change the
37:41whole health care scene
37:43in rural America.
37:45And these folks need to speak up.
37:47And so events like
37:49this shine a spotlight on
37:51this. Let folks know.
37:53Let them speak up. It's really important.
37:55A lot of Republicans will see
37:57this day of representatives speaking all
37:59over the country, like you are, and they'll say
38:01a simple line. Trump will say, we're not pushing Medicaid.
38:03Well,
38:05if his lips
38:07are moving, he won't be telling the truth.
38:09And that's what
38:11we have to protect ourselves against.
38:13And perhaps they'll get to a place
38:15where he will
38:17understand they cannot touch
38:19Medicaid to get tax cuts
38:21to the richest people in our country.
38:23All we're talking about is people paying their
38:25fair share. It's
38:27about fair share for them. They should
38:29pay their fair share. And we should have
38:31a fair share of
38:33respect for the people in our country.
38:35That's who we are.
38:37So, again, he may say that,
38:39but we don't accept that.
38:41He said,
38:43Social Security
38:45is a scam.
38:47His co-president has said it is
38:49a Ponzi scheme.
38:51So,
38:53we're not taking
38:55any word from him
38:57as, shall we say,
38:59we're just in this fight
39:01to make sure that these Republican
39:03members go to their leadership
39:05and say, I can't vote for this.
39:07My members,
39:09my constituents have spoken up.
39:11Anyone else want to speak to that?
39:13I want to add one thing to that.
39:15This isn't a bunch of politicians
39:17having press conferences
39:19across the country.
39:21You're hearing from medical professionals.
39:23You're hearing from the recipient of the
39:25medical services that they
39:27provide. This is my third
39:29press conference on this issue.
39:31Two others in my district
39:33surrounded by medical
39:35professionals, doctors, nurses,
39:37nurse practitioners, and the
39:39benefactors of that good health care.
39:41These are the people who are telling
39:43their patients that
39:45they are in trouble
39:47and in threat of
39:49losing the health care that is so
39:51important to them.
39:53Next on-topic question?
39:55Just to add one other thing
39:57to your question about
39:59can we believe what they're saying?
40:01Can we believe what Donald Trump is saying about
40:03cutting Medicaid or not cutting Medicaid?
40:05You can look at what he's saying
40:07and of course, as the speaker was saying,
40:09he has no problem
40:11lying five times a day or an
40:13hour or a minute.
40:15What I look at is what are they doing?
40:17And when they
40:19passed a budget that requires
40:21$880 billion to come
40:23out of a particular pot of
40:25money, and there's no way you can
40:27find anywhere near that without
40:29decimating Medicaid, it's clear
40:31what they're doing. So, what I
40:33would say for an administration
40:35that lies out of its feet all the time,
40:37ignore what they say and
40:39look at what they're doing. What they're doing is
40:41cutting Medicaid.
40:43Yes.
40:45I'm here for on-topic.
40:47What very
40:49you mentioned
40:51getting the message out to red districts,
40:53but very few Republican congressmen
40:55and women are having
40:57town hall meetings in their districts.
40:59They were told not to.
41:01So, how do you, what is your
41:03plan to get that out there? And also, the second part
41:05of the question for Senator Schiff,
41:07speaker of Mercer, do you still have
41:09faith in Senator
41:11Schumer to lead the Democratic caucus
41:13in the Senate? Well, we're focusing on
41:15the subject now, if you'll hold that
41:17for later.
41:19No, everybody
41:21has friends in another
41:23district. We're telling them,
41:25call your friends, call your family members
41:27who live in those districts to have
41:29them call their
41:31members. Don't you, I've said to
41:33our constituents at our press conference
41:35when we've had the
41:37town meetings or the tele-town
41:39meetings, you're wonderful,
41:41but it isn't helpful
41:43for you to call a Republican member.
41:45You have to have somebody in that person's
41:47district call the Republican
41:49member. I consider my
41:51constituents my bosses.
41:53I hope that they do, too.
41:55Hi,
41:57Monica Madden, ABT7. How are you
41:59all, obviously, there are fewer
42:01Senate Republicans who are supportive
42:03of these cuts, just given the nature of the districts
42:05compared to the House. I mean, how are you all
42:07leveraging that divide in terms
42:09of negotiations and,
42:11you know, hopefully bringing that back
42:13to what ends up in the House?
42:17Um,
42:19we've had all too many
42:21experiences, I think in the Congress
42:23and both Houses, of hearing
42:25very private reservations of many
42:27of our Republican colleagues
42:29and seeing those private reservations
42:31not materialize into
42:33public demonstrations of
42:35their conviction, and
42:37so I take with a grain of salt
42:39when I hear my Republican colleagues
42:41talk about how they don't
42:43support some of what the administration is doing
42:45and until they start voting that way,
42:47it's not going to be meaningful.
42:49Now, they are hearing from their
42:51constituents, and they know
42:53as well as we do on the Democratic side of the aisle
42:55that if they go through with
42:57this massive cut to Medicaid, their states
42:59are going to be even more adversely impacted.
43:01As a percentage of their
43:03constituents, they're going to be just
43:05in dire straits.
43:07Our state doesn't
43:09have the resources to compensate for the loss of this
43:11money. Their states certainly don't.
43:13So,
43:15there's going to be a point where
43:17they're going to have to
43:19demonstrate the public courage
43:21necessary to reject this.
43:23I think they're all waiting for the President's honeymoon
43:25to come to an end. It is
43:27coming to an end
43:29before they will
43:31be willing to speak out
43:33and to act out in a way that
43:35protects people's health care.
43:37Actually, we had
43:39a third way this time.
43:41We had a resolution that
43:43would be bipartisan
43:45and that both of the
43:47top Democrat in the House and the Senate,
43:49Patty Murray and Rosa DeLauro,
43:51introduced that legislation.
43:53It was well known to the Republicans
43:55and that could have been a
43:57path that we said to the Republicans,
43:59you can
44:01give us this resolution.
44:03If they said no, they would
44:05have shut down government.
44:07But, to a larger sense
44:09of your question,
44:11their elections
44:13are right around the corner in the House.
44:15I'm just speaking of the House.
44:17Between March and September,
44:19they'll figure out whether they're going to run
44:21again because his numbers will come
44:23down and their
44:25constituents will be telling them what
44:27they think of how they're voting.
44:29So, in the course of this five,
44:31six months, they have to
44:33either vote better
44:35or
44:37understand that the election
44:39is coming soon. Hakeem
44:41Jeffries will be the speaker
44:43of the House, if I may
44:45talk civics, or if you want to
44:47call it politics, and they
44:49know that. So, again,
44:51when you say leverage,
44:53elections are the election.
44:55People's vote is their voice
44:57in all of this.
44:59I'm wondering
45:01if you can name any Republican
45:03colleagues that you think are most likely
45:05to come on your side
45:07on this issue.
45:09I can, but I won't.
45:11laughter
45:13Dustin Gardner
45:15from Politico. I'm curious
45:17what you think it says, the fact that Republican
45:19leadership told their members not to hold
45:21town halls on this issue. What does that
45:23tell you about the state of play on the ground?
45:29The leadership told them not to have town hall meetings.
45:31Well, the optics
45:33have been terrible.
45:35You see the clips from Republican town halls.
45:37They are facing their voters,
45:39and their voters are making it very clear
45:41that they're unhappy with the direction
45:43that the Republican leadership in the House is
45:45going. We are holding town halls.
45:47I'm holding a town hall Thursday
45:49night, which is sold out
45:51at Carlmont High School
45:53in Belmont, and
45:55I look forward to hearing from my
45:57voters, who also, I think, are expressing
45:59dismay at what's happening
46:01in this country. The authoritarian
46:03moves by Trump
46:05and Musk, they are at their
46:07wit's end. I'm going to hear from them, but that
46:09is our job to listen,
46:11not just to niceties
46:13from our voters, but
46:15the reality that they're facing, and I'm
46:17sure we'll also be hearing from
46:19I'll be hearing from MediCal recipients
46:21who are very concerned about
46:23the $800 billion, which, by the way,
46:25is in the resolution.
46:27The $800 billion is coming to my committee, Energy and
46:29Commerce, and we're going to fight like hell
46:31to block those cuts.
46:35Some of you
46:37told your constituents and your
46:39colleagues to stand up and fight over the CR.
46:41I think a lot of
46:43people out in the country don't know the difference
46:45between a CR and an
46:47administration. They hear from you to fight,
46:49and then other members of your party
46:51seem to give up that fight.
46:53What would you say to them who
46:55became frustrated
46:57with how last week went? What's different
46:59now? What's the fight now
47:01compared to last week?
47:03I just have questions about Medicaid and the
47:05impact that it will have
47:07on children, on seniors, on people
47:09with disabilities, on our
47:11veterans, and the rest.
47:13I'm curious.
47:15What portion is that
47:17of what, I mean, $800 billion
47:19is a big number, but what portion
47:21of Medicaid is that?
47:23A devastating
47:25portion. It's life and death.
47:27And if you add the
47:29$230 billion that they want
47:31to take from food stamps,
47:33I don't think it's
47:35coincidental that that's about the
47:37exact amount of money you need
47:39to give a tax cut to people
47:41making over $743,000
47:43a year.
47:45I have a question.
47:47Several of you have spoken
47:49about individuals
47:51calling their offices
47:53concerned about
47:55the future of their health care and
47:57social security. We might not be able
47:59to make concrete promises to them.
48:01How do you handle conversations like that?
48:03Well, it's
48:05just, that's our life.
48:07That sounds like
48:09we listen, we learn
48:11from our constituents. In fact,
48:13we even pick up some of the vocabulary
48:15that is more useful
48:17as we go forward because we say
48:19it the way they
48:21tell us. But that is
48:23our life. And we have
48:25great staff that take many
48:27of the calls. And that's why we have the
48:29tele-town halls
48:31or in-person town halls
48:33to listen to people. But the tele-town
48:35halls have been so popular
48:37because thousands of people
48:39can participate. And they
48:41can make their suggestions or they can
48:43hear what others have to say.
48:45But that's our job.
48:47To listen, to learn,
48:49and to act upon
48:51the values that we share.
48:53Tell us who you represent.
48:55Oh, my name's Holly Ratchan
48:57with the Santa Fe Daily Journal.
48:59I found that. Welcome.
49:01Madam, just to add to that.
49:03I'm from California.
49:05I just want to add to your question because, again,
49:07this goes to what they say and what they do.
49:09They say, on the one hand,
49:11they're not going to cut social security.
49:13But we see them closing down
49:15social security offices. We see them
49:17laying off social security workers.
49:19And the result is that
49:21people that haven't received their check or can't find out
49:23what happened to their check are calling
49:25offices that aren't open anymore.
49:27Or they're put on hold for
49:29indefinite periods of time. And we
49:31hear that because then they call our office.
49:33So first they're going
49:35after the people who work for social security. Then they're going
49:37after the check. But they know
49:39that if they can interfere with your
49:41ability to reach it,
49:43they can essentially interfere with your ability
49:45to get your social security
49:47check that you've earned, that you worked your whole
49:49career for. So
49:51we hear that from our constituents.
49:53And we try to help
49:55them get through to the administration. But
49:57these are not
49:59coincidental happenings.
50:01There's a design behind this.
50:03And it is to try to
50:05make these programs
50:07down on the vine.
50:09Deprive them of the resources they need.
50:11And as
50:13the speaker was saying, just use that money
50:15for a tax cut
50:17for people who are already doing
50:19really well.
50:23We have time for one or two more.
50:25Can you answer one of the questions that came before?
50:27I mean, how do you
50:29delineate right now
50:31from last week in terms of
50:33communicating with your constituents
50:35about the ability to
50:37fight a good fight and...
50:39That falls into the category
50:41of a question outside the scope
50:43of this. And I'll come back to that.
50:45We'll come back to that.
50:47This gentleman's question as well.
50:49Just talking about California health care.
50:51Last year, California expanded Medicare
50:53eligibility to all undocumented
50:55immigrants. And just recently,
50:57that expansion has exploited
50:59the program's cost by billions of dollars.
51:01Given this, do you think it was wise for health
51:03insurance to be
51:05given to all able-bodied
51:07adults, including illegal immigrants?
51:09And would you encourage
51:11other states to do the same?
51:17You're talking about some undocumented
51:19immigrants who are able to
51:21get health care. And I just
51:23caution you before
51:25speaking out against something like that.
51:27If your neighbor is undocumented
51:29and has a communicable disease
51:31and your kids get it and die,
51:33it doesn't stop.
51:35The health care issues don't
51:37stop at the property line.
51:39And the same thing, someone who was injured
51:41needs to get help.
51:43They should get help.
51:45We're not talking about other states
51:47here today, just California
51:49and San Francisco. And that
51:51again is, as I say, the drumbeat
51:53across America are
51:55called from our bosses,
51:57our constituents
51:59who are there.
52:01What was your question?
52:03Do you still have confidence in
52:05Senator Schumer to lead the Democratic
52:07Caucus?
52:09I do.
52:11To quote,
52:13and I guess this gets
52:15to your question and the previous question
52:17as well, to quote the speaker
52:19and speaker forgive me if I get
52:21the quote wrong in part,
52:23the speaker always
52:25says that our diversity is
52:27our strength but our unity is our power.
52:29We were
52:31not unified last week.
52:33And as we're the minority
52:35in the House and we're the minority in the Senate,
52:37the only way we're going to be able
52:39to stop bad things from happening is if we're unified.
52:41So we're going to have to
52:43do a lot better the next time
52:45a key issue
52:47like this comes up.
52:49I'm not going to
52:51opine on the sort of internal
52:53caucus politics as a freshman.
52:55I'm going to leave that to more experienced people.
52:57But I think
52:59the speaker's words really ring true
53:01to me. We're going to have to figure out a way
53:03where leadership in the House and leadership
53:05in the Senate is on the same page.
53:07And we're
53:09clearly communicating
53:11a unifying message
53:13about the harms this administration is doing
53:15and is contemplating.
53:17What do you think needs to happen next time
53:19to warn those decisions?
53:21We both have
53:23the same question.
53:25I'm concerned about the next time.
53:27I'm concerned about the future.
53:29Last week was last week.
53:31We're going into the future.
53:33And this morning, Hakeem Jeffries
53:35and Chuck Schumer
53:37joined in this kind of
53:39an event in
53:41New York where
53:43Hakeem said that he
53:45had confidence in Chuck Schumer.
53:47So we're to the next stage on this now.
53:49But your question
53:51and yours, it is about what comes next.
53:53I myself
53:55don't give away anything
53:57or nothing.
53:59I think that's what happened the other day.
54:01We could have,
54:03in my view, perhaps gotten them
54:05to agree to a third way,
54:07which was a bipartisan
54:09CR for
54:11four weeks in which
54:13we could have had bipartisan
54:15legislation go forward.
54:17I'm an appropriator.
54:19Mr. Schiff is an appropriator
54:21with the Appropriations Committee.
54:23They may not have
54:25agreed to it, but at least
54:27the public would have seen they're not
54:29agreeing to it.
54:31And that, then they would have been
54:33shutting government down. Because we don't want
54:35government to shut down. And by the way,
54:37just from a historical standpoint,
54:39in modern times, all
54:41the shutdowns have been precipitated
54:43by the Republicans. Newt Gingrich
54:45in the nineties was
54:47Clinton. Clinton didn't
54:49shut it down, but Newt Gingrich
54:51insisted on shutting it down when
54:53Clinton was president. Boehner,
54:55when Obama was president,
54:57he insisted on shutting government down.
54:59Speaker Boehner.
55:01The president of the United States
55:03going out the door,
55:05the longest shutdown
55:07in history, was it
55:0935 days or whatever it was,
55:11it was his and he said he was really proud.
55:13He was really proud
55:15to shut government down. So,
55:17shutting government down as a Republican
55:19initiative
55:21has been consistently.
55:23We haven't. That isn't who we are.
55:25So, we weren't going to
55:27shut government down. We just wanted to have
55:29another path to make sure
55:31we could keep it open. Or, if
55:33it didn't stay open, that people knew
55:35why.
55:37It was Trump. The 35 days was Trump.
55:39What did I say?
55:41Make sure they know.
55:43I don't like
55:45to use his name.
55:47What's his name? I said,
55:49I guess.
55:51I was in a room when Chuck and I were
55:53negotiating the thing on this and he said,
55:55I'll shut it down and I'll be proud to.
55:57And he did for a long
55:59period of time.
56:01And we took the majority.
56:03We went in a few days later and took the majority.
56:05But it took a while for us to get him
56:07to sign anything.
56:09So, in any event, it is
56:11again,
56:13it's about the budget.
56:15It's about the budget. It's about the statement
56:17of values of who we are as a country.
56:19They talk about fiscal
56:21responsibility. I invite any of you
56:23to join in on this. Fiscal
56:25responsibility. They gave a tax cut to
56:27the richest people in America.
56:29Over 87% of it
56:31going to the top 1%.
56:33And it added $2
56:35trillion to the national
56:37debt. Unpaid for.
56:39Unpaid for. $2 trillion
56:41to the national debt. And now
56:43they want to do it again, double.
56:45You want to speak to that?
56:49I just want to point out, we've
56:51talked a lot about them cutting
56:53different programs that are important
56:55to the American people. Medicaid.
56:57I mentioned the
56:59food security programs and the Department
57:01of Education. But even if they do
57:03all the stuff that they're talking
57:05about doing that harm Americans,
57:07they still don't come up with enough
57:09money to pay for these tax cuts.
57:11So they would still be adding
57:13to the national debt
57:15after they've
57:17decimated safety net programs,
57:19health care programs,
57:21food security programs.
57:23So if there's
57:25a scam out there, it's those guys.
57:27It's not Social Security.
57:29It's not Medicaid. It's those guys.
57:31And that scam
57:33will fall directly on the
57:35shoulders of the families of
57:37our great country.
57:39Our distinguished colleague who was here
57:41on the Oversight Committee,
57:43and they have...
57:45They have oversight
57:47over everything in government.
57:49So when they talk about waste, fraud, and abuse,
57:51that's our responsibility.
57:53Our oversight of spending.
57:55They have
57:57made up this thing
57:59and it resonates
58:01with some people in the public.
58:03No, there shouldn't be any waste,
58:05fraud, and abuse.
58:07But that's not calling
58:09Social Security a scam.
58:11Trump.
58:13A Ponzi scheme.
58:15Scam,
58:17Ponzi scheme.
58:19Don't the inspectors general
58:21find the waste, fraud, and abuse?
58:23That's what they do, except they were all fired
58:25by Donald Trump.
58:27That's a very strict
58:29regimen under the...
58:31Anyway, thank you all for coming.
58:33And I want to thank our special guest.
58:41...today,
58:43tomorrow, the next day,
58:45and again,
58:47for a long time to come about other subjects
58:49related to the health and well-being
58:51of the American people.
58:53Thank you all so much.
58:55Are you traveling to other hospitals?
58:57I thought we were getting off the bus.
58:59I was wondering if you were traveling around.
59:01Well we went to the Children's Hospital
59:03with, and that's we took the box from the children's hospital.
59:06I brought my hospital with me in Providence.
59:10Thank you, everybody.