Statement From Dr. Richard Besser on the Senate Reconciliation Bill

PRINCETON—The U.S. Senate today passed its reconciliation bill. Richard E. Besser, MD, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issued the following statement in response:  

As communities prepare this week to celebrate American rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the Senate has decided to reverse generations of progress on all three. America is at its best when all families and communities have what they need to be healthy and thrive. By contrast, the Senate’s bill takes those things away, stripping people’s ability to live with dignity, security, and the assurance of having their basic needs met.

Under this legislation—which cuts more than $1 trillion from essential health programs like Medicaid and SNAP—millions of hard-working people will lose healthcare coverage and food assistance under the heavy burden of new punitive governmental red tape. By its very design, the bill will make our country sicker, put children at risk of going hungry, and make it harder for families to afford basic necessities—all to further enrich wealthy individuals and corporations. Seniors will struggle to afford long-term care. People with disabilities will lose critical healthcare coverage that allows them to work and live independently. Rural communities across America will be decimated from hospital closures, and people will lose their lives. It is unfathomable to see policymakers intentionally inflict so much damage on the people they represent.  

Working alongside our partners and grantees, RWJF will continue to do everything in our power to work toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right. But this bill would be a monumental setback. Unless lawmakers immediately reverse course, the devastation will be severe and long-lasting. As Congress and the Administration barrel toward their self-imposed July 4th deadline for budget reconciliation, this is one race where nobody will win, and countless people will lose.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact media@rwjf.org. 

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

RWJF is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. Through funding, convening, advocacy, and evidence-building, we work side-by-side with communities, practitioners, and institutions to get to health equity faster and pave the way together to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.