States are rushing to their aid.
In Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill, Congress cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, the healthcare program that covers one in five Americans and funds roughly a fifth of all hospital spending in this country.
More than 400 hospitals are now at risk of closing or cutting services. Maternity wards. Mental health units. Emergency rooms in rural communities where there is often no alternative. The people most at risk are the ones who can least afford it — low-income families, Black and Latino communities, people in rural areas who already drive an hour to see a doctor.
Rightwing federal lawmakers used their power to make this choice. But state lawmakers are using their power to respond.
In Michigan, state lawmakers passed a budget in October 2025 that fully funds Medicaid and the Healthy Michigan Plan — protecting coverage for patients across the state, preserving funding for rural hospitals and labor and delivery services, and maintaining support for maternal care and pediatric behavioral health programs.
In New Mexico, the governor called lawmakers into a special legislative session in October 2025. They passed emergency legislation providing $162 million to protect residents from federal cuts — funding food assistance, stabilizing rural hospitals, and helping families afford health insurance as federal subsidies disappear.
Two states. Two different approaches. The same refusal to let their residents fall through the cracks — and in their 2026 sessions, both continued their focus on protecting people in their states.
Not every state is filling this federal funding gap. In states where lawmakers won’t act — or don’t have the power to — families will feel the cuts, hospitals will close, and people will go without care.
The States Project builds majority power for state lawmakers who will show up and govern to protect their constituents. And in some states, a couple hundred votes is all it takes to build the power to protect healthcare.
With 100 days until the midterms, are you ready to do something about it?
