1. United States
2. W.V.
3. Letter

The “Big Beautiful Bill”—as it’s euphemistically branded—is a WRECKING BALL aimed at the fragile systems that help West Virginians survive. Its cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, labor protections, and environmental safeguards aren’t just bureaucratic—they are policy violence. Especially for places like WV, where survival has long depended on mutual care amid government neglect. Top 10 devastating impacts: 1. Medicaid Cuts: Death by Spreadsheet Short-Term: Thousands lose care. 7 rural hospitals projected to close. Nursing homes collapse—75% of residents rely on Medicaid. Long-Term: Life expectancy drops. Infant mortality rises. Entire regions become healthcare deserts. 2. SNAP Reductions: Hunger and Malnutrition Short-Term: Families lose food aid. Food banks dry up. Kids go hungry in one of the poorest states in the nation. Long-Term: Generational malnutrition. Increased chronic illness. Worsened school performance and absenteeism. 3. Harm to Elders and People with Disabilities Short-Term: Home care vanishes. Elders become homeless or institutionalized. Long-Term: Disabled West Virginians are pushed out or left behind. Family caregivers (mostly women) forced to leave jobs. 4. Trans and Reproductive Healthcare Erased Short-Term: Medicaid stops covering hormones, abortion, prenatal care. Long-Term: Maternal and infant deaths rise. Queer youth flee the state for safety. 5. Job Safety Rollbacks: Back to the Mines Short-Term: OSHA gutted. Child labor allowed. Black Lung and injury rates spike. Long-Term: Appalachia is again treated as an extractive colony. Worker deaths treated as expendable. 6. Environmental Deregulation: Poison for Profit Short-Term: Pipelines forced through. Chemical spill protections erased. Long-Term: Soil, air, and water poisoned. Cancer clusters and miscarriages increase. No path to sustainable farming or safe living. 7. Collapse of Public Schools Short-Term: Medicaid-funded school nurses and counselors gone. Closures hit rural counties first. Long-Term: Brain drain accelerates. Fewer kids return after graduation. Poverty deepens. 8. Criminalization of Poverty Short-Term: With support slashed, crime and survival economies rise. Policing increases. Long-Term: Prisons overflow. We spend more caging people than caring for them. 9. Death of Rural Healthcare Infrastructure Short-Term: Ambulance coverage disappears. Clinics and hospitals close. Long-Term: People die waiting. Entire regions depopulate from necessity, not choice. 10. Political Despair and Civic Collapse Short-Term: Disillusionment grows. Far-right populism may fill the void. Long-Term: WV becomes a sacrifice zone—no media, no healthcare, no voice. Mutual aid becomes the last line, but it’s unsustainable. Final Word: This bill isn’t just brutal—it’s targeted. With our high rates of poverty, disability, and illness, West Virginia won’t survive this intact. It will lead to real, measurable suffering and death. And worst of all, that’s the point. This will not stand!