Members of the nation's largest nurses union say threats to Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act will hurt patients.

Nurses from National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the United States, will be joining Mobilize to Save Our Health Care, a march in Washington, D.C., on March 12. Longtime champions of health care as a human right, NNU nurses say funding for programs like Medicaid and Medicare is critical to patient care across the country and that budget cuts are a direct attack on patients nationwide.

“Medicaid protects tens of millions of patients, and nurses care for them every day. Taking away their health care is deadly,” said Nancy Hagans, RN and NNU president. “This is an attack on children, on seniors, on patients who are pregnant or have disabilities — it is an attack on millions of our patients. We need to expand health care, not destroy it.”

Who: National Nurses United nurses
What: Mobilize to Save Our Health Care
When: Wednesday, March 12, 12 p.m. ET
Where: March begins at Columbus Circle — 35 Columbus Monument Drive Northeast, Washington, D.C. — and ends at the U.S. Capitol

“This is a knife in the back for people across the country, from the biggest city to the quietest backroad,” said NNU vice-president Diane McClure, RN, who will speak at the rally. “Cuts across HHS will defund hospitals and shut down care facilities. Medicaid keeps people alive, including through its recent expansion. Gutting one of the largest sources of health care funding in the country is going to sicken and kill our patients.”

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 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.

The March 12 event is organized by the Center for Popular Democracy and cosponsored by NNU alongside a robust coalition of organizations fighting to save U.S. health care. NNU represents more than 225,000 nurses across the nation and advocates for policies and legislation that improve the lives of nurses and communities everywhere. 

On March 13, NNU will host an educational webinar about fighting back against massive Medicaid cuts. Speakers will include NNU President Cathy Kennedy, RN, and AFL-CIO President Liz Schuler, as well as Vinay Krishnan, National Field Organizer for Popular Democracy, and Jamila Headley, Executive Director of Be A Hero, two groups also involved with the March 12 event. The public and press are invited to register for the webinar here.

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.