June 25, 2025

ICYMI: Berkshire Eagle Highlights Warren, Massachusetts Constituent’s Renewed Fight to Prevent Trump, Republicans’ Proposed Cuts to Health Care

Washington, D.C. — In a new article on Senator Warren’s leadership in the fight to protect Medicaid, the Berkshire Eagle highlighted the story of Liam Barry, who wrote a letter in 2017 to President Donald Trump urging him not to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which helped his mother access life-saving care.

Eight years later, Barry is reiterating his plea, as Congressional Republicans propose major cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act that would kick at least 16 million people off of their health care. The proposed cuts would help pay for nearly $4 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy.

“If we did not have the coverage from all of these programs, we would not be able to make it financially,” Barry said, adding that his mother’s infusions would cost nearly $10,000 a month without health insurance. “It would be crippling.”

“I don't believe that anyone should lose health care so that Jeff Bezos can buy a third yacht,” said Senator Warren.

At her town hall in Pittsfield on June 21, 2025, Senator Warren urged people across the political spectrum to speak out against the proposed cuts.

“Everyone (should) lift their voice peacefully about this issue and make clear that, however you voted last November, you didn't vote to take away health care from millions of people in this country just so that billionaires could get a little richer,” said Senator Warren.

Read the full Berkshire Eagle story here and below.

In her fight to preserve Medicaid, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren revisits local boy's 2017 letter to President Trump

In 2017, then 10-year-old Liam Barry wrote a letter to President Donald Trump urging him not to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“Thanks to the ACA, my mother has been able to get the care and medication she needs. If you repeal the ACA, my mother will not be able to get the care she needs,” Barry wrote. “I know there are millions of kids in the same situation as me, so please think of them when you read this.”

As Congress debated the American Health Care Act of 2017, a bill the Congressional Budget Office said would strip health coverage from 14 million people in its first year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren took to the Senate floor and read the Worthington resident’s letter in an effort to save the ACA.

Eight years later, Barry’s message hasn’t changed. As the Senate prepares for a potential vote this week on Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Barry and others across the state are once again worried about losing access to publicly funded health care.

Warren invited Barry, now 18, to join her at Saturday’s town hall at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield after releasing a video of him rereading his childhood letter — this time with a renewed plea to not cut Medicaid.

The legislation, which passed the House and is on track for a Senate vote ahead of Trump’s self-imposed July 4 deadline, includes major changes to Medicaid and the ACA, including new work requirements for able-bodied adults. According to the CBO, nearly 11 million people nationwide could lose health coverage if the bill becomes law.

“If we did not have the coverage from all of these programs, we would not be able to make it financially,” Barry told The Eagle Saturday before the event, adding that his mother’s infusions would otherwise cost $10,000 a month. “It would be crippling.”

Though details are still being negotiated, the Senate version of the bill is expected to include even steeper Medicaid cuts than those already approved in the House. Proposals include imposing work requirements on parents of teenagers and restricting state-imposed Medicaid provider taxes, which are a key funding mechanism for states to keep rural hospitals like North Adams Regional Hospital afloat.

Republicans backing the bill’s Medicaid provisions say the changes would help rein in what they view as out-of-control government spending. Defending the proposed work requirements, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso argued that some unemployed Medicaid recipients spend their time watching television and playing video games instead of looking for work.

Medicaid, also known as MassHealth in Massachusetts, is a joint state and federal program that covers health care costs for low-income individuals and families. Warren described it as a social safety net that protects vulnerable populations across different life stages.

“Medicaid provides health care for about half of all newborn babies in our country and for their moms,” Warren said before Saturday's event. “It provides wheelchairs and home health aides for people with disabilities who are living independently, and it pays for the care of about half the people in nursing homes.”

In Berkshire County, nearly one in four residents rely on Medicaid. That became clear during Saturday’s town hall, where nearly every hand in the audience went up when Warren asked who relies on the program or knows someone who does.

“Everything is getting tighter and tighter. Prices are going up,” said Ellen Shaby, who was waiting outside before the event. She said proposed cuts to Medicaid and other assistance programs are top of mind. “How are we going to live?”

The proposed Medicaid cuts are intended to help offset approximately $3.75 trillion in tax breaks included in the House version of the bill. Those breaks would extend tax cuts from 2017 and add new ones backed by Trump, like eliminating taxes on tips and expanding write-offs for business equipment.

“I don't believe that anyone should lose health care so that Jeff Bezos can buy a third yacht,” Warren said.

She urged people across the political spectrum to speak out against the proposed changes, much like they did when the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, was trying to cut Social Security.

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