As Congress tangles with a proposed federal budget that could slash billions of dollars in benefits for low-income families nationwide, Michelle Mastrototaro, of Tampa, worries about her own family, especially her 16-year-old son, Bryce, who is autistic and blind.
鈥淥ur senators in D.C. are discussing possibly cutting programs [Medicaid, food stamp benefits] that help families like mine,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he programs are not perfect, but they are a lifeline for people, and our family is trying so hard to make life work right now.鈥�
Mastrototaro鈥檚 family, like tens of millions of families across the country, is keeping close tabs on the debate in Congress over President Donald Trump鈥檚 more than 1,000-page 鈥渂ig, beautiful bill" that includes steep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) and nearly $700 billion in reduced spending in Medicaid, which provides health insurance for families with limited income.
Mastrototaro spoke Tuesday during a virtual press conference organized by the Tallahassee-based Florida Policy Institute to talk about 鈥渢he devastating鈥� impact of Trump鈥檚 proposed budget bill on Floridians.
READ MORE: Proposed federal cuts would hurt food insecure residents, Palm Beach County nonprofit warns
The event featured speakers from the Florida Health Justice Project, Florida Impact, along with SNAP and Medicaid beneficiaries. The groups were among more than 70 that
Senate Republicans are proposing deeper Medicaid cuts as a way to offset the costs of making Trump鈥檚 current tax breaks more permanent under the bill.
Senate Republican leaders are pushing to fast-track the package by Trump鈥檚 Fourth of July deadline. The House barely passed its own version of the bill in late May.
A nationwide shows 83% of the public have favorable views of Medicaid.
Mastrototaro and her son, who was recently diagnosed with cancer for the second time, said losing Medicaid benefits would mean the family would have to pay more medical costs out of their own pockets. The mother and son had already lost their Tampa home during Hurricanes Helen and Milton.
Mastrototaro has stepped away from her job to care for her son, who is undergoing chemotherapy for Stage II Hodgkin lymphoma. She is concerned about being required to work to keep her Medicaid benefits under Trump鈥檚 proposed budget bill.
She also said her family relies on SNAP benefits to pay for groceries. She is among almost who would lose access to SNAP benefits through the bill.
Erica Monet Lee, a policy analyst at the progressive Florida Policy Institute, said Trump鈥檚 proposed cuts to SNAP would, for the first time, require states to pay the cost of monthly grocery benefits provided to households.
鈥溾�奣he bottom line is that all of these federal cuts 鈥� without the state money or will to fill in the gap 鈥� will force Florida to reduce access to SNAP and other programs,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淚n ways that inevitably hurt the people who need it the most in our state.鈥�
Lynn Hearn, legal director at Florida Health Justice Project, said changes to the Affordable Care Act 鈥� under the proposed Trump budget 鈥� is projected to cause more Floridians to lose healthcare coverage than the changes to Medicaid.
Florida, Hearn said, is home to the country's largest number of ACA marketplace enrollees, with .
鈥淥ur enrollment has been rising steadily since 2020,鈥� she said.
Hearn said that changes like letting advanced premium tax credits expire this year, increases in premium costs, and changes to enrollment periods and eligibility will make the program inaccessible and unaffordable.
鈥溾�奣his time Congress might not be calling it an outright repeal of the ACA as it did in 2017, but a program that is inaccessible or unaffordable is as good as repealed,鈥� Hearn said.
Mastrototaro said she wishes those in Congress could live a day in her family鈥檚 life to grasp what鈥檚 at stake for her and millions of other families across Florida and the nation if Trump鈥檚 鈥渂ig, beautiful bill鈥� is signed into law.
鈥淪tep into our shoes and see how critical these benefits are for our families all across the nation,鈥� she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
