Seeberger and Bigham Warn Public About Federal Healthcare Cut

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2025
Contact: Mary Nehring, Senate District 41 DFL Party Chair
651-380-1016, mnehring1957@gmail.com

Seeberger and Bigham Warn Public About Federal Healthcare Cuts

Congressional Republicans' funding cuts increase food insecurity and reduce healthcare access

State Senator Judy Seeberger (DFL Afton) and Washington County Commissioner Karla Bigham (Cottage Grove) held a joint town hall on Wednesday, October 22, at Cottage Grove City Hall to alert the public about the Trump administration's moratorium on processing SNAP applications beginning November 1, 2025. They also discussed the Republican-led Congress's proposed cuts to Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and elimination of the tax credits for eligible Minnesotans who get their healthcare insurance through MNsure.

Bigham explained that federal programs like SNAP and Medical Assistance are administered locally by counties, historically with federal funding to help counties with the administrative costs of delivering the services. Over 80% of the county’s budget is state and federally mandated, with counties having no control on how the money is spent. The Trump administration has already cut much of the funding for the needed staff to run the programs. So far, Washington county has tried to absorb those costs. But ultimately, counties may have to turn to taxpayers for increased property taxes to make up for the federal shortfall, which she resists. "I will not tax people out of their homes," she said, "so then the only other choice may be cutting services."

10,000 people in Washington county rely on SNAP to avoid going hungry. That includes families who rely on food assistance from MFIP, the Minnesota Family Investment Program, that also uses SNAP funding. Bigham said food banks like Basic Needs and Friends in Need are preparing for the increased demand, but depend on donations. She said when county staff learned that no applications could be processed after November 1, they worked 14 and 16-hour days to make sure the last 140 families with pending applications could receive benefits before the deadline.

Seeberger said, "Thank goodness for universal school meals that we passed in 2023. That may be the most reliable food source for many children now."

Seeberger and Bigham also decried the federal underfunding of Medical Assistance (MA) that was already in place before the elimination of SNAP benefits. Seeberger, a firefighter and paramedic, said how difficult it is to respond to sick patients who need to go to the hospital, but have them refuse transport because they can't afford it. She and Bigham stressed that MA cuts that reduce compensation for healthcare providers ultimately force hospitals and clinics to

reduce services or close completely. "When clinics close and hospitals reduce services, everyone around feels the loss of care, not just those who need Medical Assistance." Seeberger added, "Access is critical for families across MN, and that's no different in the east metro. If people can't get food stamps, or lose their healthcare coverage, families will go without. That is cruel."

Audience members shared stories about the cost increases they face with private coverage and Medicare Advantage plans. One woman said her Medicare Advantage plan's premiums were going up 15% and out of pocket costs for clinic visits were going up 25%. Mary Nehring from Hastings said, "In my home, we have multiple chronic conditions and have to self-ration care to save costs. Most people like us enroll in these programs because they just need a little bit of help. But with these Republican cuts, when costs are already so high, I don't see how, in a year, we can avoid losing our home. It's so depressing." She added, "I'm tired of hearing politicians talk about fraud, waste and abuse. They make it sound like it's the participants causing the abuse. It's not about the participants."

Seeberger and Bigham encouraged people to contact their offices for more information and possible resources.

SNAP is the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as food stamps. Medicaid, known in Minnesota as Medical Assistance, covers people with low incomes, often families with small children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. MNsure is Minnesota's online marketplace for individuals like farmers and the self-employed, who buy their own health care insurance through MNsure because they don't have access to group plans like those provided by employers. Such insurance often has the costliest monthly premiums, even when coverage is skimpy, so the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") provides tax credits, increased during the pandemic, to make the insurance more affordable. The current budget proposed by President Trump and the GOP majorities in Congress to severely reduce or eliminate funding for these programs and tax credits, cuts that Democrats refuse to support, is at the heart of the current government shutdown.