BOISE, Idaho — In downtown Boise, demonstrators gathered outside the Idaho State Capitol on Wednesday night to protest federal healthcare changes included in the recently passed 2025 tax bill. Protesters say the cuts will strip health coverage from tens of thousands of Idaho residents.
About 70 people laid still in Cecil D. Andrus Park in what organizers called a “die-in,” symbolizing Idahoans, they say, who could die each year without access to health care.
WATCH: Healthcare workers and patients rally at the Capitol over potential Medicaid and ACA subsidy changes.
Protesters argue that up to 67,000 people may lose coverage because of reductions to Medicaid and the loss of Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Angela Bangs, a family medicine physician in Boise, said this issue affects many of the people she treats.
“This is truly such an important issue. And most of my patients are on Medicaid or rely on the ACA subsidies to get their health insurance. And I see every day the effects of having health insurance,” Bangs said.
Bangs said without coverage, families will face difficult decisions.
“These are families who will have to choose between stable housing, food, basic necessities, and their life-saving medications and ultimately will lead to worse patient outcomes, and people will die as a result of this,” she said.
For some protesters, the impact is personal.
“I get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and without the tax credits, we can't afford to get insurance. As a matter of fact, the JEC has predicted that 68,000 Idahoans will be without health insurance, which will result in 80 unnecessary deaths per year,” said Alice Nelson.
Nelson said the demonstration aimed to send a message directly to lawmakers.
“We just want to get the attention. That maybe, they could come to some sort of agreement that they would at least extend the tax breaks for a year or so and not gut Medicaid, that's also something that's going to affect a lot of Idahoans here,” she said.
Organizers say they plan to continue holding events and are encouraging people affected by the cuts to contact their members of Congress.
