rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/defend-snap-and-medicaid?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-defend-snap-and-medicaid' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> CHN Action https://actionnetwork.org/groups/coalition-on-human-needs https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the Big Brutal Bill this week and—like its House counterpart—it’s devastating for nutrition and health care programs for vulnerable communities. The Senate Agriculture Committee proposal will include the largest cut to SNAP in history, as part of a budget package that guts basic needs programs. The bill also contains the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, and will result in 16 million people losing their health insurance. A recent analysis of the House-passed bill found that because of the cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and reduced staffing requirements at nursing homes, 51,000 people will die each year.   Additionally, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as many as 330 rural hospitals nationwide could close as a result of this bill. Cutting the heart out of basic needs programs including SNAP and Medicaid doesn’t save states of the federal government money—it denies care and creates bigger problems down the road, shifting the burden to service providers, local governments, and taxpayers. This will lead to higher costs and more strain on budgets—household and state budgets alike. And it will cost lives. It’s not too late to change course. Now more than ever, it’s critical that the Senate act to protect health care, nutrition, and other essential services that help millions of families meet their basic needs. We should strengthen support for these programs—not take them away.   Click “Start Writing” to send a message to Congress telling them to reject draconian cuts and to strengthen human needs programs. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/defend-snap-and-medicaid