A group of about two dozen University Medical Center nurses and community members gathered outside U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s Metairie office Tuesday morning, protesting proposed cuts to Medicaid included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — President Donald Trump’s signature domestic policy bill.
The nurses called on Cassidy to oppose the bill around the same time the Senate voted to pass it by a 51-50 vote. Cassidy voted in favor of the bill. It now heads back to the House for approval.
The demonstration is part of a nationwide campaign organized by National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the U.S. The protests target lawmakers in multiple states, including Arizona, California, Ohio and Maine, where proposed Medicaid changes are expected to hit residents the hardest.
Nurses at Tuesday’s protest warned that the bill’s consequences would be felt not only in hospitals and clinics, but in homes and communities across Louisiana.
“Not to be overly dramatic, but people will be sick, people will die,” Terry Mogilles, a trauma nurse at University Medical Center, said at the protest. “It would be devastating also to the providers, to the nurses, the physicians, the hospitals and the facilities that depend on those Medicaid dollars to keep their doors open.”
The nurses said they organized the protest to advocate for their patients, many of whom are on Medicaid, and they appealed to Cassidy’s background as a medical doctor.
“Sen. Cassidy, people's lives depend on you doing the right thing as a physician,”Mogilles said. “Stay away from the billionaire class and remember the oath you took to take care of people, to heal, to have access to health care. Vote no.”
The bill proposes $863 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade. If enacted, the legislation would mandate new work requirements, limit eligibility, and reduce federal support for state Medicaid programs.
Critics say the impact would be especially harsh in states with high poverty rates like Louisiana, where nearly one-third of residents rely on Medicaid for health coverage.
Nationwide, the bill could strip health coverage from 7.8 million people and leave up to 16 million Americans uninsured by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In Louisiana, the loss of federal Medicaid funding would pressure the state to either cut services, restrict eligibility or find new revenue sources.
Economic consequences are also expected. An analysis from the George Washington University Health Policy Research Group projects that, by 2029, the Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cuts could eliminate 1.2 million jobs nationwide and reduce state GDPs by $154 billion.
Louisiana, which expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, is among the states most vulnerable to job losses and reduced local tax revenues under the proposed changes. Roughly 210,000 people could become uninsured if the bill passes, according to KFF, a health policy research group.
In addition to shrinking access to care, the bill would also prohibit payments to certain family planning providers, ban gender-affirming care for Medicaid recipients, and freeze funding mechanisms many states rely on to support their Medicaid systems.
@moreperfectunion "He needs to come down on our level and live like we do. He wouldn't survive, I'm afraid." GOP Speaker Johnson’s constituents are putting him on blast for gutting Medicaid. 16 million people would be kicked off their health insurance as a result of the House budget bill, in order to fund tax breaks for the rich. @drewhawkinsreports #workersrights #corporategreed #medicaid ♬ original sound - More Perfect Union
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR. Support for public health coverage comes from The Commonwealth Fund.
