North Carolina’s $19.4 billion in health care funding is on the chopping block so lawmakers can gift tax cuts for corporations and billionaires

On March 20, HCA Mission Hospital registered nurses will gather at the district office of U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis in Hendersonville, N.C., to protest proposed Medicaid cuts that would deteriorate health care services in the region, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). Along with community organizations and NC Medicaid patients, nurses will present a check made out to the "Billionaire Class” paid for by “Working People” totaling $19,443,040,982 billion  – the amount of Medicaid funding in North Carolina at risk if Sen. Tillis votes to gut Medicaid to fund tax cuts for billionaires.

“As nurses, we see firsthand how vital Medicaid is for our patients,” said Molly Zenker, RN in the float pool at HCA Mission Hospital. “Cutting Medicaid would be devastating for working families. If you vote to cut Medicaid, you’re not saving money – you’re handing a check to billionaires at the expense of your constituents’ health. We challenge Sen. Tillis to stand with patients, not greed.”

Sen. Tillis has nearly 2.8 million constituents – more than a quarter of the state – who receive life-saving health care access provided by NC Medicaid, the state’s health care program for the elderly, disabled, and the young, which is paid for primarily by federal Medicaid funding. 

What: Nurses protest Medicaid cuts and deliver $19.4B check paid for by “working people” to the “billionaire class” – representing the amount of health care funding that could be diverted to fund tax breaks for the wealthy if Sen. Tillis votes for GOP budget
Where: Sen. Tillis’ district office at Historic Courthouse Square, Suite 112, Hendersonville, NC
When: Thursday, March 20 from 9:30–10 a.m. ET

“Cutting Medicaid isn’t just numbers on a budget, but real people whose lives are at risk,” said Hannah Drummond, RN in catheterization lab recovery. “Nurses are outraged that our elderly, disabled, and youngest patients would be left without the care they need to survive. These are our neighbors, our families, and our community members. We refuse to stand by while their health is sacrificed to line the pockets of billionaires.”

According to 2023 data, more than one in five people in the U.S. had health care coverage funded by Medicaid that year. In states like California, New York, West Virginia, and Louisiana, more than one in four people were covered under Medicaid in 2023.

In addition to the tens of millions of people covered under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies – including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) – provide essential research, guidance, and regulation that nurses and health care workers rely on for both patient care and their own health and safety. Moreover, tens of thousands of nurses are employed by the Veterans Health Administration (VA), the nation’s largest public sector health care system, which is also facing federal defunding.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.