Amo Meets with Emergency Doctors Anticipating Deluge of Patients from Republicans’ Shutdown and Attacks on Primary Care Access

Providence, RI – TODAY, Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI-01) toured the pediatric and adult emergency departments at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence. Congressman Amo spoke with emergency department providers amid the health care crisis caused by Trump and Congressional Republicans. Their Big, Ugly Law cut over $1 trillion from America’s health care system, and Republicans shut down the government rather than extend the health care tax credits that help 41,000 Rhode Islanders afford their health insurance through the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange, HealthSource RI. The expected spike in uninsured Rhode Islanders, compounded by Republicans’ broader attacks on state health care systems, is likely to drive patients to receive basic care from emergency rooms, overwhelming already strained systems. 

“Emergency rooms are a vital part of our health care system. They should be focused on treating emergencies, not primary care,” said Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI-01). “Republicans’ assault on our health care system is expected to force desperate parents with a feverish child or a senior needing a prescription to head to the emergency room or to forgo care altogether. Doctors are bracing for Republicans’ callousness to overwhelm hospitals and force Rhode Islanders to make impossible decisions about which of their basic needs to meet. Trump and Congressional Republicans must reopen the government, stop the health crisis, and lower costs.” 

“We are grateful to Congressman Amo, and the Rhode Island delegation, for their continued support for our hospitals, physicians, nurses and others who care for our families and communities across the state, ” said Sarah Frost, President of Rhode Island Hospital and Chief of Brown University Health Hospital Operations.  “Low Medicaid reimbursements already impact our ability to recruit, retain, and fairly compensate our health care teams, while we also manage rising costs for technology, supplies and infrastructure which further strain hospital budgets. Our state’s health care crisis will worsen if Medicaid and other critical healthcare supports are further cut.”

Background

Congressman Amo has voted to protect Rhode Islanders’ health care since being sworn in to Congress in 2023. He voted against Republicans’ Big, Ugly Law, which stripped more than $1.5 trillion from America's health care system in July after speaking against the bill at 3 am, not once but twice. 

Since the Republicans shut down the government rather than help Americans afford their health insurance, Amo has met with impacted Rhode Islanders across the First Congressional District. He visited Brown’s Legorreta Cancer Center, where clinicians have been forced to stop enrolling patients in clinical trials because of the Republican shutdown. Behavioral health leaders at Butler Hospital shared how Medicaid cuts would limit many vulnerable Rhode Islanders’ ability to access mental and behavioral health care. Dozens of Rhode Islanders have also shared personal stories about how skyrocketing health care costs will impact them.  

However, Republicans remain intent on stealing from Rhode Islanders’ pockets. Rhode Islanders are currently receiving notices with their new health insurance costs for next year. Due to Republican inaction, some Rhode Islanders can expect to see a 200% increase in monthly premium costs, adding further strain to family budgets already taking a hit from Trump and Republicans’ cost of living crisis.  

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