GOP's Latest Pitch for Gutting Medicaid and Food Aid? 'Well, We All Are Going to Die'

Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst on Friday brushed off her constituents' concerns about the life-threatening consequences of her party's proposed cuts to Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance, telling a town hall audience, "Well, we all are going to die."

Ernst's remark came after a person in the crowd warned that "people will die" if the safety net cuts proposed in the House-passed budget reconciliation package become law.

The Iowa senator began by waving away the crowd's response, saying, "People are not... " After trailing off, Ernst said facetiously that "we all are going to die."

"So, for heaven's sakes," she added with a smile.

Ernst, echoing Republican leaders, repeatedly denied that the reconciliation bill would cut Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, claiming the legislation only targets "overpayments" and those who are currently on the programs' rolls but aren't eligible.

Throughout the town hall, people in the audience called Ernst a "liar" and shouted in protest as she attempted to justify the reconciliation bill's safety net cuts.

As written, the GOP measure includes roughly $1 trillion in combined cuts to Medicaid and SNAP—the largest-ever spending reductions for the programs—as well as draconian work reporting requirements that analysts say would strip benefits from millions of people across the country.

The bill also includes a provision that would require some low-income Americans to pay more for Medicaid benefits—an effective cut.

"We're at the point where a U.S. senator is saying healthcare and hunger don't matter because we all die eventually," the progressive media organization More Perfect Union wrote on social media in response to Ernst's comments.

"Joni Ernst is worth at least $7 million," added the advocacy group Social Security Works. "She won't die due to lack of healthcare. But she thinks you should."

Research published earlier this month found that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act has saved tens of thousands of lives since 2010—an indication that the severe Medicaid cuts included in the GOP reconciliation package could have deadly consequences.

The Center for American Progress recently estimated that the work requirements Republicans are seeking to impose on many Medicaid recipients "would lead to more than 21,600 avoidable deaths nationally each year."