Trump Guts Healthcare on Global Scale

The Trump Administration while busy guilding everything in sight with gold and expanding the White House ballroom, has still managed to cause a massive curtailment in public health resources. Here is the list of his administration’s actions in order of priority, which are most deleterious to global health.   

Cutting billions in grants for medical research causing public universities and research groups to layoff thousands of scientists. These cuts include 16 billion in economic losses and 60,000 in jobs. Some of the research programs have been in existence for fifteen years and the lead investigators will take their programs to other countries to continue their work. France, Switzerland, and Canada are all global research centers. It is estimated the loss of these experts, value of medical technology and treatments generated by medical research will cause a permanent four percent reduction in GDP for the United States.

      Stopping the funding of USAID destined for disease prevention and treatment in the developing world, and demonically highlighted by the Trump Administration’s order to burn 9.7 million dollars of birth control products in Belgium, on August 7, 2025. This despite a U.S. based nonprofit’s offer to distribute the IUDs. hormonal implants, and birth control pills for free within the United States. Apparently, people in the Trump Administration are still confused on basic birth control, as none of these products were abortifants, the reason cited for their destruction. And where were these often life saving devices destined, to Africa, where lack of basic maternal health is rife and loss of life for mother and child is common. Albeit, thanks to the originalist conclusions of the U.S. Supreme Court, maternal deaths are on the rise here too. A further curtailment of Medicaid funding will only worsen the access for prenatal and postnatal care. Many maternal deaths occur after discharge from a hospital, where follow-up care is limited. When a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

          Removal of clinical and scientific experts on the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) review board for approval of medical interventions, including drugs, which will result in more specious, extremely expensive, and dangerous treatments offered without due diligence in the United States. In June, HHS Secretary Kennedy fired all seventeen experts on the review board for vaccines, which were replaced by eight persons, including vaccine skeptics. (Mandavilli, 2025) This action undermines the credibility of the FDA for drug and treatment standards, which has been considered the gold standard globally.

      Direct cuts to public health programs including vaccine development, disease surveillance, and access to care will result in the closure of many clinics and hospitals in rural areas. The Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (BBBA) disqualifies legal immigrants from Medicaid benefits eligibility and makes draconian cuts to Medicaid which will eviscerate coverage for 16 million people. (Mia Ives-Rublee, 2025) The crowning achievement of permanent tax breaks for the rich and claw-backs for the poor cuts Medicaid by a trillion dollars and only offers rural hospitals fifty billion in subsidies, which are not guaranteed and are subject to new constraints. Further the rural hospital subsidies are only budgeted for five years. Any state that reimburses more than the miserly Medicaid cap determined at the federal level will face funding cuts, further limiting resources and access to care. This is just another way for the Republicans to kill the Medicaid Expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which has been adopted by 41 of the states. (Kaiser Family Foundation.org, 2025) It appears healthcare has been brought to its knees by nine predominately southern outlier states.

Republicans who voted for the bill essentially are ripping off their own people. It is estimated that 700 hospitals, about a third of all rural facilities will close. Here is a statewide list of rural hospitals that have the most at risk because of the shortsightedness of the Trump Administration Medicaid cuts. (Data is current as of July 2025)

 In this analysis, several states had no hospitals at risk of closure because of the BBBA.

 (Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, 2025)

Stopping the approval and funding of the highly effective Rna vaccines, which were developed quickly and saved thousands of lives during the Covid Pandemic, which was of course, preceded by appointing the anti-vaxer, with no medical background, Robert Kennedy, Jr. as Secretary of Health & Human Services. (Manadivilli, 2025)

          Further restrictions on access to birth control, reproductive rights, and maternal and child health, with a patchwork of state laws since the Trump appointed-Catholic dominated-Originalistic-Supreme Court overturned Roe-v-Wade in 2022. Women forced to fly outside their state of domicile to obtain urgent medical care during pregnancy complications, even those which are life threatening. Doctors are refusing to provide care for fear of losing their medical license in Idaho, Texas, and other states.

      Eviscerating healthcare savings to taxpayers if the healthcare entity donated to the Trump Campaign; case in point, overriding the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid decision not to reimburse for some of the outrageously costly and no more effective skin coverings for diabetic wound care. Because some of these products come under the biologic rulings, they are considered a new treatment and are more-or-less allowed to charge whatever they want, because the Medicare rules stipulate reimbursement at 6% of whatever the medical device company charges. Diabetic foot ulcers represent 16% of the total Medicare population, but the cost just for the skin coverings is over 10 billion annually for taxpayers. (Pinder, 2025) The Medicaid payment system does need reform, but allowing lobbyists in the medical supply sector to decide that outcome is not in the best interest of the nation. Other countries assess both the efficacy and the price of a medical treatment, weighed against what is currently available, for potentially less money before approval of a treatment device or drug. The U.S. government and the workers who contribute payroll taxes to pay for Medicare and Medicaid programs are not obligated to provide profitability for medical device, pharmaceutical, or medical supply companies. If the United States wants to reduce the cost of Medicare, it must adopt the evidence-based-practice recommendations for the most clinically and financially practical applications. Everyone does not drive a Rolls Royce or a Rivian and the government should not be expected to supply medical devices or applications that are unaffordable. Having a market rate reimbursement system saps resources from other primary health care needs, and for treatments which already have adequate substitutes.

 This article was written by independent journalist, Roberta Winter who received no compensation and is not intended to provide medical advice. Except, when agreeing to medical treatments of an inpatient variety, do stipulate that for which you consent and which you decline. If you do not have a medical directive or a POLST, get one. And this is the healthpolicymaven signing off.

References

Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. (2025). Rural Hospitals At Risk of Closure. Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.org. Retrieved August 7, 2025, from ruralhospitals.chqpr.org

Kaiser Family Foundation.org. (2025, May). https://www.kff.org/statedata/collection/measures-to-identify-states-at-greater-risk-if-federal-medicaid-spending-is-reduced/. Retrieved August 7, 2025, from https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/state-indicator/state-activity-around-expanding-medicaid-under-the-affordable-care-act/?currentTimeframe=0&selectedDistributions=status-of-medicaid-expansion-decision&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%

Manadivilli, A. (2025, August 7). On Vaccines, Kennedy Has Broken Sharply With the Mainstream. The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2025, from On Vaccines, Kennedy Has Broken Sharply With the Mainstream

Mandavilli, A. (2025, June 24). Vaccine Panel Gutted By Kennedy-Loses Member Ahead of First Meeting. The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2025, from https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/us/politics/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-panel.html

Mia Ives-Rublee, K. M. (2025, July 3). The Truth About the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. Progress.org. Retrieved August 7, 2025, from https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-truth-about-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-acts-cuts-to-medicaid-and-medicare/#:~:text=The%20bill%20will%20put%20rural%20hospitals%20at%20risk&text=Rural%20hospitals%20have%20some%20of,risk%20when%20rural%20hospita

Pinder, J. (2025, July 21). https://clearhealthcosts.com/blog/2025/07/in-turnaround-administration-proposes-limits-on-skin-substitute-industry/. Clear Cut Costs. Retrieved August 7, 2025, from https://clearhealthcosts.com/blog/2025/07/in-turnaround-administration-proposes-limits-on-skin-substitute-industry/