Independence for Whom? The Fight for Health Justice Under the Big Beautiful Bill

Image courtesy of X user @CalltoActivism shows protestors in wheelchairs being zip-tied by Capitol police for protesting against Medicaid Cuts.

Today, as our nation prepares to celebrate its independence, we confront a sobering reality: The so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" (BBB) will be signed into law tomorrow, and it will soon strip millions of Black and marginalized folks of life-saving healthcare, mental health, and substance use care. Medicaid, the largest payer for these services, faces devastating cuts, risking coverage for Black Americans who represent 20% of the recipients of Medicaid.

Why This Hurts Our Village

Loss of Critical Coverage

85 million people depend on Medicaid; 33% have mental health needs, and 25% face both mental illness and substance use disorders. Cuts will force more into emergency rooms, jails, untreated suffering, or death by police responding to mental health crises.

Barriers to Care Will Grow

Already, only 1 in 3 Black Americans receive mental health treatment due to stigma, cost, and provider shortages. This bill worsens disparities by slashing safety-net funding and making it even harder for our community to access care.

Our Work Just Got Harder

At BMHV, we see daily how systemic racism compounds trauma. This bill undermines our health justice advocacy and overwhelms the capacity of our therapy fund, internship programs, and community healing program to support the growing needs of our community. Still, we continue to bridge gaps because we know these systems were designed to fail us.

How We Respond

• Advocate: Join our Health Justice Coalition as we build community and our capacity to fight back through the Pathways to Health Justice Training. 

• Donate: Our therapy fund ($250 covers a month of therapy for a person) and free & sliding scale therapy is now a lifeline for those losing Medicaid.

Donate

• Mobilize: Reach out to your local council representative and urge them to use their position to meet the health needs and support the community care our neighborhoods deserve. Remind them that their leadership at the local level is crucial for protecting access to vital health and mental health services.

A Call to Radical Care

This bill assumes our lives are disposable. We reject that. Healing is resistance. Whether you donate, protest, organize, or simply check on a loved one today, tomorrow, and consistently, we need you to act. Our ancestors survived systems never meant for them. So will we.

In solidarity,

Benaias Esayeas

Executive Director

Black Mental Health Village