As doctors, we are bound by a simple oath: do no harm. Yet the harm baked into H.R.1—the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” —could reverberate through our exam rooms and communities for years. Passed by the House on May 22, this legislation bankrolls tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans by hollowing out the very programs that keep our communities healthy. Medicaid’s 72 million low-income children, parents, people with disabilities, and pregnant patients now face new work-reporting hoops, semi-annual re-certifications, heightened copays, and a patchwork of state-by-state benefit rollbacks—changes that we know will push millions off the rolls and even further away from our care. Simultaneously, the bill slashes more than $500 billion from Medicare, jeopardizing essential outpatient services and creating longer wait times for the 55 million seniors who rely on them.
We know what happens when coverage frays: hypertension goes uncontrolled, insulin is rationed, cancers are caught later, and patients face endless boarding in Emergency Departments across the country. Every moment we spend filling out prior-auth forms is time we can’t devote to patient care; imagine adding work-requirement documentation and twice-yearly eligibility audits to that burden. These cuts would also deepen racial and rural health inequities, compounding the very disparities we are already fighting.
The Senate now holds the scalpel. That means we must flood every hearing room, op-ed page, and social feed with one message: gutting Medicaid and back-door-cutting Medicare is fiscally short-sighted and morally indefensible. Call and email your senators. Submit testimony through your hospital’s government-relations office. Sign onto specialty-society letters. Share patient stories that illuminate what stable coverage really means: a child breathing easier with controller inhalers; a stroke survivor regaining speech because rehab wasn’t capped; a transgender teen receiving evidence-based, gender-affirming care that prevents self-harm.
We’ve beaten back similar threats before by uniting evidence with advocacy. Let’s do it again. The health of our patients—and the integrity of our profession—depends on a budget that puts care before tax breaks. Raise your voice now, while there is still time to suture this bill’s wounds before they become scars.
In solidarity,
Christine Petrin, MD, MPH,
President, Doctors for America
Coalition Acts to Protect Pregnant Patients’ Federal Right to Emergency Care, Including Abortion
Doctors for America — represented by Democracy Forward, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, and the National Women’s Law Center — is taking legal action to defend pregnant patients’ right to receive, and for physicians to provide, health- and life-saving abortion care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This federal law has required hospitals with emergency departments to provide stabilizing treatment, including abortion, to patients experiencing medical emergencies for nearly four decades.
Doctors For America’s Copello Fellowship program is a unique opportunity to build leadership and advocacy skills to improve the health of your patients and community. Twelve extraordinary leaders will meet monthly to learn from experts and each other about advocacy, action planning, media relations and communication strategy, engaging your legislators and so much more!
The program is open to medical students, residents, practicing physicians and retirees - your willingness to learn and make a difference is all that is needed. You must be able to attend monthly advocacy leadership meetings (2nd Thursday of each month at 8 pm ET), participate in Impact Area monthly subcommittee meetings, and create a Capstone project and video showcasing the work and results of what you’ve done and accomplished within an assigned Impact Area.
(Time commitment 1 - 2 hours per week.)
The deadline to apply is Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 11:59 pm. For more information, please contact Angie Bakke or click below to apply.
If you’re frustrated about what’s happening in Washington, join the community of like-minded people from across the country and learn the ins and outs of writing an impactful op-ed on Sunday, June 22, from 2:00 - 3:15 pm ET. Op-eds provide a powerful platform for raising awareness about critical issues, shaping public discourse and influencing policy.
Join Jennifer Obel, MD (prior freelance journalist for the Washington Post and Spokesperson for ASCO) for hands-on training from 2:00- 2:30 for DFA advocates who want to learn how to use patient stories and personal experiences to create and pitch compelling op-eds and letters to the editor.
At 2:30, participants will move to break out rooms. Editors from DFA's Op-Ed Review Committee will offer you a chance to test and discuss your material and outline and hone the article for greatest publication success. All experience levels are welcome. The only thing you need is an idea of what you want to write about. Feel free to partipate in the entire event or either the didactic portion or writing workshop.
This episode is a collaboration with Doctors for America.
"This issue has been affecting my sleep. I'm not sleeping and I'm a pretty good sleeper, so this must be bothering me."
In this powerful episode of the Pursuit of Health podcast, Dr. Eric Fethke collaborates with Doctors for America & Charles Gaba to sound the alarm about the proposed $880 billion in Medicaid cuts over ten years - a cut larger than the program's entire annual budget.
