EXPERTS, PARENTS, AND PATIENTS IMPACTS BY SNAP AND MEDICAID CUTS AVAILABLE FOR ON-THE-RECORD COMMENT ON PASSAGE OF “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL”

For Immediate Release

July 1, 2025

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**AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS**

EXPERTS, PARENTS, AND PATIENTS IMPACTS BY SNAP AND MEDICAID CUTS AVAILABLE FOR ON-THE-RECORD COMMENT ON PASSAGE OF “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL”

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate just passed President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” advancing the deepest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in American history.

The legislation slashes health care and food assistance – raising costs and inflicts serious harm on low-income people, children, seniors, and people with disabilities – all while giving massive tax breaks to the wealthy.

If passed, the bill would leave 17 million Americans without health coverage. For the first time, most states would be required to cover a share of SNAP’s food benefit costs. This massive, unaffordable cost shift could force states to reduce the number of people receiving help, slash benefits, or drop out of the program entirely.

The bill now heads to the House, which will need to approve the Senate’s changes before it can head to the president’s desk for his signature.

The following individuals are available for interviews:

Policy experts from the Partnership for Basic Needs, a coordinated network of national, state, and local groups fighting to protect programs that help families meet their basic needs. Experts can break down the Senate bill, preview what’s ahead in the House, and explain what’s at stake for American families and communities across the country.

Dr. Fritz Siegert is a double board-certified internal medicine physician and pediatrician working in the Tribal health system in Alaska, serving predominantly Alaska Native communities across both urban and remote rural areas. Dr. Siegert provides hospital-based care for adults and pediatric care in off-road villages accessible only by air. His work focuses on delivering care to historically underserved populations, and he emphasizes the critical role Medicaid plays in sustaining the Tribal health system — from emergency medical evacuations to long-term follow-up care. (Alaska-based)

Margaret “Meg” Moore is a disability services professional directly impacted by proposed Medicaid cuts. Margaret runs a job training program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities—fully funded by Medicaid. If these cuts go through, she could lose her job, and her clients risk losing critical support, housing, and health stability. Her work helps adults with disabilities, trauma, and mental health challenges gain skills, find employment, and live independently. (Colorado-based)

Alex Watters is a motivational public speaker, city councilman, and disability justice advocate whose life changed dramatically during his freshman year of college, when a horrific swimming accident left him quadriplegic. At the time, he was on a scholarship and on track to become a professional golfer. After the accident, he found a new calling in political science and began the difficult journey of navigating an ableist world. Alex received his bachelors and masters degree with the support of Medicaid-funded services, from home care and job assistance to surgeries and therapy. He has spent time in D.C., worked with Michelle Obama on advocacy, and is currently working to push the “Work Without Worry” bill in Iowa, a legislation aimed at ensuring disabled people can work without the fear of losing essential benefits. Alex is already feeling the effects of cuts from Medicaid, as he struggles to keep consistent homecare and is often threatened with notices that he may lose his benefits due to his job. (Iowa-based)

Patrick Kearns is a registered nurse at the Iowa City VA Medical Center and father of two disabled children who rely on Medicaid. Patrick’s son needs Medicaid to access psychiatric medications and therapy after a childhood brain injury. His daughter now lives independently thanks to Medicaid-supported housing. Before getting coverage, Patrick’s family was overwhelmed by medical costs—cuts would put them right back in that position. (Iowa-based)

Nancy Baker Curtis, a public school teacher in Grimes, relies on Medicaid to support her 9-year-old son Charlie, who has complex medical needs. Medicaid covers his therapies, in-home care, and wheelchair — and allowed Nancy to return to work. Cuts could limit Charlie’s care and likely force Nancy to leave her job. (Iowa-based)

Kasey McBlais is a nonprofit professional and single mom of two in rural Oxford County, Maine who depends on SNAP to feed her 7-year-old son. (Maine-based)

Taylor Johnson, 31, adopted her son George, a six-year-old with Down syndrome, knowing Medicaid would help support his complex needs. It covers therapies, medical equipment, and emergency care. Without it, George could lose the care that helps him thrive — and their family could face financial ruin. (Michigan-based)

Mary Marinelli, 70, is a hospice nurse and single mom. Her adult son Michael, who has autism, relies on Medicaid for round-the-clock care. It covers medications, therapy, and pays her younger son to serve as Michael’s caregiver. Without it, Mary says she’d have to sell her home or take a second job to keep her son alive. (Michigan-based)

Marie Adkins is a nurse and mother of a son on the autism spectrum. She warns that Medicaid cuts would harm vulnerable patients, strain hospital systems, and increase wait times — with deadly consequences. (Michigan-based)

Crystal Lyon is a young mother and full-time caregiver from Foristell, Missouri. Crystal became a mom at 18. Her daughter, Ari, was diagnosed shortly after birth with retinoblastoma—a rare eye cancer—and has undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy. Medicaid has covered more than $425,000 in treatment costs. As Crystal puts her dream of becoming a realtor on hold to care for Ari, she’s now deeply concerned that proposed cuts or work requirements could threaten access to care for families like hers. (Missouri-based)

Matt Kimberlin had to stop working full-time due to increasingly severe health issues in 2020. He says that without SNAP and Medicaid, he would be homeless—and likely wouldn’t survive. (Missouri-based)

Jed Hansen is the executive director of the Nebraska Rural Health Association. Jed is an expert on rural healthcare access and the challenges facing rural Nebraska. He’s deeply concerned that Medicaid cuts will lead to hospital closures, increased difficulty for rural patients (with all types of insurance) to access care, and a severe loss of maternal and pediatric healthcare services. (Nebraska-based)

Theresa Luoni is a single mom from Basking Ridge, NJ, whose family would be directly impacted by the Medicaid and disability program cuts. Theresa is raising 12-year-old twin boys who are profoundly autistic and permanently disabled. Since their premature birth at 26 weeks, her family has relied on Medicaid and SSI for the therapies, care, and services that make daily life possible — and that allow her to safely care for them at home. (New Jersey-based)

Zach Disador is a frontline supervisor at The Arc Mid-Hudson in Putnam County, NY, where he oversees Medicaid-funded respite services for individuals with developmental disabilities. With over 20 years of experience, Zach has seen firsthand how underfunding and staffing shortages are pushing the disability services system to a breaking point. A leading local advocate, he trains staff on Medicaid policy and can share how proposed cuts would devastate caregivers, families, and communities. (New York-based)

Kathy Kelly-Long is the director of a long-standing food pantry at Broad Street Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio, which serves over 400 food kits a month to working families and seniors. With rising food costs, she’s seeing more demand. Many people she serves work full-time jobs and still rely on both SNAP and food pantries to feed their families. (Ohio-based)

Kyle Garvey was born with cerebral palsy and relies on Medicaid for home care and Supplemental Security Income. His $1,500 monthly SSI check is his only income. Cuts to Medicaid would put his care — and his housing — at serious risk. (Ohio-based)

Chloe Raison is a working mom of three children, two of whom use Medicaid for their healthcare. Her five year-old daughter Effie was born with Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) and Medicaid covers all of her treatment, including weekly speech therapy, annual oncology and genetics appointments, and regular ultrasounds to monitor if she has cancer, which she is at a higher risk of. Additionally, her oldest child is non-binary and Medicaid covers their essential care at a gender clinic, which has drastically improved their life. Chloe is a strong advocate for Medicaid because she’s seen the life-changing impacts it’s had on both kids’ lives and health. If Medicaid is cut, Chloe’s family will have to incur crippling debt to pay for her children’s healthcare. (Pennsylvania-based)

Melissa Rinker is a 42-year-old woman living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and more than 30 other chronic health conditions. Before a disabling incident in 2019 left her bedbound, she had worked full-time since she was 15, yet still struggled to afford housing and food. Since becoming disabled, Melissa has relied on Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP to survive. She says that if these programs are cut, she doesn’t believe she’ll live to see her 50th birthday. (Pennsylvania-based)

Lolly Hopwood is a single mother of a son with disabilities who depends on Medicaid for his Type 1 Diabetes care. She knows firsthand how essential the program is and says that if Medicaid were cut and she had to pay for his care out of pocket, it would bankrupt her family. They’ve also relied on SNAP in the past to get by. (Pennsylvania-based)

Kristin Volchansky is Advocacy Director for Action Together NEPA. In college, she developed symptoms of an autoimmune deficiency that forced her to leave school. She relied on her parents’ insurance until Medicaid expansion allowed her to access affordable care. For the first time, her IVIG treatments—once $7,000 out-of-pocket—were fully covered. Though she now has private insurance through her husband, she’s deeply concerned about what Medicaid cuts would mean for others in her community. (Pennsylvania-based)

Dr. Jill McMullen is a physician with over 30 years of experience across various clinical settings — including rural healthcare and veterans’ facilities. Dr. McMullen now runs a family practice in Wisconsin. She has seen firsthand how patients struggle to afford treatment, skip appointments, and neglect their health due to underinsurance. Dr. McMullen can provide valuable insight into how these cuts would affect her patients, regardless of their insurance status, and the broader local healthcare system. (Wisconsin-based).

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The Partnership for Basic Needs (PBN) is fighting to protect health care, nutrition, and other essential services that help millions of families meet their basic needs. PBN is a coordinated network of national, state, and local groups fighting to block cuts to programs that support families struggling to meet their basic needs.

PBN is made up of a wide variety of health, disability, nutrition, housing, and economic leaders, including the Center for American Progress, Center for Law and Social Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Coalition on Human Needs, Community Change, and the National Women’s Law Center.