Washington DC - Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday released a new report detailing the harmful impacts of Republican-backed cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
The 20-page report – entitled "I'm Terrified I'll Die": Americans Speak Out About Republican Health Care Cuts – gathers personal stories from 42 states and Washington DC.
People across the country reported fearing for their lives and livelihoods amid threats to health care under the Trump administration.
"I live in fear of whether or not I will be able to afford my life-saving treatment. I have a rare kidney disease that requires immunotherapy every nine months. I'm terrified I'll die," said a woman named Laura in Wisconsin.
Another, Patricia from California, warned, "If our local clinics and hospitals close, as they are likely to with federal funding disappearing, people will die."
The report notes that premiums are expected to double, on average, for the 24 million Americans who buy their own health insurance.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 15 million Americans will lose their health care as a result of budget cuts.
"We are on the verge of collapse," Sanders warned on the Senate floor on Tuesday, reiterating his support for a single-payer Medicare For All system.
Bernie Sanders slams "cruel" US health care system
The report was released in the midst of a government shutdown as Democrats demand an extension of health care subsidies that are due to expire.
President Donald Trump already signed over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act into law this summer via his One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
"Our health care system is already broken, dysfunctional and cruel," said Sanders, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
"85 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured. We spend twice as much per person on health care as any other major country, and yet our life expectancy is four years lower."
"Now, at a time when we should be guaranteeing health care as a human right, Donald Trump and his Republican colleagues are making a horrific situation even worse."
The Vermont independent went on to say that he would "not vote for a budget that doubles premiums, throws 15 million people off health care, and causes 50,000 preventable deaths every year."