Healthcare in the US is virtually unaffordable for a large portion of the American populace, with 62% of U.S. adults saying they are worried about being able to afford healthcare services and 44% saying it is difficult to afford today’s health care costs, via a July KFF poll.
Due to recent spending bills signed into law by the Trump administration, cuts to healthcare related programs have triggered the mass layoffs of healthcare officials across the country with the state of New York alone estimated to have lost 65,000 jobs in the healthcare sector – many of which affect areas serving low income citizens.
H.R. 1, campaigned for as the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, was the largest spending bill signed into law by the Trump administration, effectively reducing government funding to healthcare programs like Medicaid – projected to receive $1 trillion in cuts in the next ten years and Medicare – expected to receive $500 billion in cuts between 2027 and 2034, with the cuts affecting the healthcare coverage of over 70 million Americans.
These policy changes have correlated with the Trump administration’s efforts to appoint new leadership in the healthcare sector as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as the Secretary of Health and Human Services in February. The confirmation narrowly passed in the Senate with a vote of 52-48 with Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as the only Republican to vote against his nomination.
Kennedy’s confirmation wasn’t without controversy, due in part regarding his view that vaccines contribute to autism diagnosis. Kennedy has stood by that comment and is expected to release a report later this month declaring that the use of Tylenol by pregnant women is linked to autism according to the Wall Street Journal.
As the top ranking health official in the country, Kennedy recently came under fire for his decision to fire the director of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Susan Monarez after she spent less than a month in the role. Kennedy was called upon to testify regarding the firing and his most recent anti-vaccine comments during an Aug. 28 hearing before the Senate Financing Committee.
Although Republicans haven’t directly called on Kennedy to resign, many have expressed their displeasure with Kennedy for trying to change vaccine policy recommendations without scientific confirmation in his anti-vaccine stance. Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the second ranking member of the Republican party, questioned Kennedy regarding the false comments about the COVID vaccine contributing to more deaths than the disease and the safety of vaccines.
“I support vaccines. I’m a doctor. Vaccines work.” said Barrasso. “Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I’ve grown deeply concerned.”
“Americans don’t know who to rely on. If we’re going to make America healthy again, we can’t allow public health to be undermined.” said Barrasso in a reference to Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement.
Kennedy’s influence as the country’s top health official has emboldened anti-vaccine policy nationwide as Florida aims to become the first state to remove state vaccine mandates, effectively allowing children to be enrolled in public schools without being vaccinated.
The proposal was made by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and backed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In an interview on CNN’s State of the Union, Ladapo acknowledged his team had not conducted studies on the effects of removing state vaccine mandates before promoting his proposal.
This comes after Texas’ confirmation last month of the final case in a measles outbreak which sickened more than 762 people beginning in late January. Over two-thirds of the cases were in children and resulted in the death of two children – the first reported deaths from the disease since 2015, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America. In July, government officials reported that 95-98% of the cases were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccine status.
During a Sep. 3 press conference, addressing his proposal Ladapo stated that “every last [vaccine mandate] is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” He added, “Is it appropriate for a government or any other entity to dictate to you what you should put in your body? No, it’s absolutely not appropriate. You have sovereignty over your body.”
For a state seemingly so concerned about bodily autonomy, DeSantis and many other Republicans have made efforts to restrict access to gender-affirming care and abortion access.
In 2023, Florida passed Senate Bill 254 which banned gender-affirming care for minors and placed restrictions on access for adults. In addition, May of 2024 marked the passage of Florida’s abortion ban, prohibiting abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
The problem lies not only in the government’s access to the removal of vaccine mandates, but the attempt from Kennedy and Republican lawmakers to limit access to vaccines to promote their own healthcare agenda. One not backed by science, but by personal beliefs.
