'I'm livid': Medicaid patient who went through ER nightmare has message for GOP lawmaker

A Medicaid patient from Bakersfield, California, is blasting Republican Rep. David Valadao over the Medicaid cuts in the GOP’s tax law, KFF Health News reported in a story carried by NPR.

Ulises Hernandez, 41, who has been on Medicaid his whole life, said he spent eight hours in an emergency room in September after a dental crown slipped down his throat during a procedure. He then went over two days without eating, he said.

This wait wasn't directly attributable to the Medicaid cuts, which have yet to fully take effect. But Hernandez said that experience previews what could come as the cuts are implemented.

“I’m livid,” Hernandez said, speaking from his wheelchair at a protest outside Valadao’s district office.

Hernandez said Valadao should be ashamed for backing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is projected to trim over $900 billion from Medicaid through 2034. He plans to vote for Democrat Randy Villegas.

Roughly 62 percent of the swing district’s residents are enrolled in Medicaid. A progressive think tank, the Center for American Progress, estimates about 60,000 more people there could lose coverage by 2034, counting the bill and the end of ACA tax credits.

Valadao has defended the vote, saying the law makes “no actual cuts” and that its work requirements are “not an unreasonable ask.”

At a campaign event with House Speaker Mike Johnson, neither mentioned Medicaid. When KFF Health News asked Valadao about his vote, he said the reporter was distorting the truth.

Political scientist Jeffrey Cummins said California’s redrawn map makes the seat friendlier to Democrats than before. Each party has reserved over $16 million in ads there.