BURSTA new ad campaign seeks to alert Spanish-speaking voters in Republican-led swing districts on what is at risk for their health after Congress voted to advance spending plans including more than $800 billion in proposed cuts to Medicaid.
Protect Our Care, which lobbies for the preservation of the Affordable Care Act, launched the six-figure radio campaign on Tuesday. The ad, which was provided in advance exclusively to The Hill, features two women discussing the impact Medicaid cuts will have on their families.
“With everything we are facing every day, can you imagine if my kids’ health care coverage got taken away?” a woman asks in the ad.
“If Republicans in Congress are able to pass their plan to cut Medicaid, more than half of our kids could lose their health care,” she continues.
The woman adds that she would be unable to afford her children’s insurance the next time they got sick.
“Cuts to Medicaid also mean that our elders in long-term care could lose health care too,” a second woman points out.
The first woman responds, “One out of three Hispanics rely on Medicaid, so cutting it would be a direct attack against us.”
More than 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid for health coverage, more than half of those are people of color, according to reporting from UnidosUS. More than 20 million Latinos and 13.3 million African Americans are on Medicaid, according to the report.
Latino Americans overwhelmingly support Medicaid, polling from Protect Our Care and Hart Research found, and would disapprove of cuts to Medicaid funding.
But the recent proposed budget cuts — including $880 billion to Medicaid over the next decade — have raised concerns about the racial disparities in health care coverage.
Advocates including Protect Our Care have argued the cuts will exacerbate these health inequities, including driving up medical debt in communities of color, worsening health outcomes and leaving families without access to critical care.
“The Republican effort to gut a program that one in three Latinos rely on for health care will have devastating impacts on Hispanic communities nationwide,” Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, said in a statement.
“These ads expose Republicans for turning their backs on their Latino constituents just to give tax cuts to billionaires and big companies.”
Some Republicans have also spoken out against the proposed cuts.
Last month, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a letter expressing their own concerns about the cuts.
“While we fully support efforts to rein in wasteful spending and deliver on President Trump’s agenda, it is imperative that we do not slash programs that support American communities across our nation, nor underfund critical programs necessary to secure the border and keep our communities safe,” the letter said.
The lawmakers added, “Slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities where hospitals and nursing homes are already struggling to keep their doors open.”
Protect Our Care’s ad campaign is part of an ongoing 10-million-dollar “Hands Off Medicaid” campaign, which also includes TV and digital ads. The organization also plans to launch a direct mail campaign in 10 Republican swing districts.
The new radio campaign will run in seven GOP-held districts, those of Reps. David Schweikert (Ariz.), David Valadao (Calif.), Young Kim (Calif.), Ken Calvert (Calif.), Andrew Garbarino (N.Y.), Rob Bresnahan (Penn.), and Dan Newhouse (Wash.).
“Latinos across the country are counting on Republicans to do the right thing and abandon these cuts to Medicaid,” said Dach.