Latina Institute’s 2025 Medicaid policy brief

We’re proud to launch the Latina Institute’s 2025 Medicaid Policy Brief, a powerful new report uplifting the voices of Latine and immigrant communities fighting to protect care.

Medicaid has been a lifeline for nearly 60 years, helping millions of families access care, give birth safely, and raise their children with dignity. But today, this essential program is facing the largest cuts in U.S. history.

For Latine and immigrant families, these cuts are more than numbers on a page — they threaten our health, our futures, and our right to make decisions about our own bodies.

What’s Happening

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) could strip Medicaid coverage from up to 10 million people, including hundreds of thousands of Latines in states like New York, Virginia, Florida, and Texas.

These rollbacks come at a time when communities are already navigating anti-immigrant rhetoric, reproductive health care restrictions, and the aftermath of pandemic-era coverage losses.

Medicaid remains the largest payer of reproductive health care services — covering 16 million women of reproductive age and nearly half of all births in the U.S. Yet, politicians are putting politics before people, threatening to undo decades of progress.

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

• Nearly 1 in 3 Latines rely on Medicaid for health coverage.

• Medicaid covers 59% of all births to Latina mothers nationwide.

• Two states — Texas and Florida — have still not expanded Medicaid, leaving millions without access to care.

• Proposed cuts could push millions of immigrant families further into crisis, especially those already afraid to seek care due to deportation threats.

The Human Impact

Behind every policy debate are real people: mothers, caregivers, and grandparents trying to keep their families safe and healthy.

Without Medicaid, too many will face impossible choices: between paying rent or buying medicine, between caring for a loved one or losing their job.

Anti-immigrant rhetoric and fear of deportation already keep many Latines from seeking care. Cutting Medicaid only deepens these injustices, especially for mixed-status families who are already navigating barriers to health, language access, and safety.

What’s at Stake

These proposed cuts are part of a broader pattern, one that uses fear, misinformation, and discrimination to deny people care.

When we strip away coverage, we’re not just denying health care we’re denying dignity, stability, and the right to decide what’s best for ourselves and our families.

The fight for Medicaid is a fight for reproductive justice.

Our Response

At the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, we are fighting back.

Our new 2025 Medicaid Policy Brief brings together stories, data, and lived experiences from Latine and immigrant communities across the country. It shows why Medicaid must be protected and strengthened — not cut.

We know that when our communities have access to care, we all thrive.

📖 Read the full brief to learn more about what’s at stake and how you can take action.💬 Share it with your friends, family, and networks  because everyone deserves care, no matter their immigration status, income, or zip code.

In Solidarity

Together, we can build a country where every person — regardless of who they are or where they come from — has access to the health care they need to live and thrive.

We won’t stop until we achieve true reproductive justice for all.