In Pueblo County, we pride ourselves on being a strong, resilient community. We take care of one another, our working families, our seniors, our veterans and our neighbors with disabilities. That’s why I’m deeply concerned about the sweeping federal budget bill recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Though Republicans try to brand it  “big and beautiful,” the reality is this legislation threatens to devastate health care access and economic stability in communities like ours, simply so they can fund tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.

This bill proposes more than $700 billion in Medicaid cuts, the largest in American history, and eliminates key subsidies that help people afford insurance through the Affordable Care Act. These changes won’t make programs more efficient or solve fraud. They’ll simply take away health coverage from millions of people. In Pueblo County, more than 40% of our residents are enrolled in Health First Colorado, our state’s Medicaid program. That’s more than 69,000 people, including children, working parents, older adults, veterans and individuals managing chronic illness.

Cutting Medicaid at this scale doesn’t just hurt those currently enrolled. It puts pressure on our entire health care system. Local clinics, hospitals and providers who are already stretched thin rely on Medicaid reimbursements to keep their doors open. If those dollars disappear, we won’t just lose coverage. We’ll lose access. Emergency rooms will fill up, preventive care will disappear, labor and delivery units will close, and health care jobs will vanish. The proposed work requirements sound reasonable on paper, but they create enormous red tape and administrative burdens, when already at least 92% of those who can work, do work. Our county’s Medicaid system is already under strain. Adding complex reporting and costly verification systems will lead to delays, confusion and wrongful terminations of coverage. That’s not hypothetical; we’ve already seen it happen after COVID when 500,000 Coloradans were dropped from Medicaid, many of whom still qualified but couldn’t navigate the red tape of the re-determination process.

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And the strain doesn’t end with health care. At the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment, 40% of funding comes from federal sources, most of which are now on the chopping block. Cuts have already forced staff reductions. Programs that serve children, ensure food safety and provide family planning services are being de-funded or delayed. If this budget is enacted as written, we risk hollowing out the very systems that protect public health.

It’s also worth noting Medicaid is not just a health care lifeline for our community; it’s also an economic driver. For every dollar Colorado invests in Medicaid, the federal government provides more than $2 in return. These dollars support jobs, fund hospitals and keep working families afloat. Pulling them out of the economy is not fiscal responsibility. It’s economic sabotage. This bill doesn’t make government programs more effective; it cuts first and asks questions later. There’s no serious plan here to reduce costs or improve outcomes, only a promise that somehow, removing health coverage from the people who need it most to fund tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations will make us stronger. Pueblo knows better.

I believe in accountability. I believe in good governance. And I believe we owe it to our community to speak loudly and clearly when something threatens our collective well-being. This legislation may be moving through Washington, but its consequences will be felt most acutely in places like Pueblo. Congress and our U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd must reject these cuts and go back to the drawing board. We need a health care system that protects the vulnerable, supports our front-line workers and strengthens our local economy without leaving our most vulnerable behind.

Miles Lucero represents District 1 on the Pueblo County Commission.