July 14, 2025
As future physicians, we are alarmed by the sweeping cuts to essential health and environmental protections in the recently passed budget bill. The so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ dismantles critical support systems that comprise the foundation of public health.
For many of us in medical school, benefit programs such as SNAP and Medicaid enable us to obtain necessary care and resources and pursue an education to serve our communities. In the 2024 fiscal year, 41.7 million Americans or 12.3% of the U.S. population received SNAP benefits (USA Facts). As of March 2025, there were 71,258,215 people enrolled in Medicaid (Medicaid). We’re witnessing the dismantling of the safety net that supports students, our patients, and our communities’ resilience. Additionally, this bill contains several policy changes that further imperil training the next generation of health professionals by removing or limiting several lines of student loan financing that our students rely on.
Climate disasters are intensifying, with people in the Northeast and Midwest facing excessive heat, floods devastating central Texas, and wildfires burning rampant out West – yet this bill locks in fossil fuel dependence while removing healthcare access for the most vulnerable populations. Communities already bearing the heaviest pollution burdens are now facing impossible choices between rising energy costs and basic needs, while our elected representatives deliberately backpedal on clean energy programs that provide affordable, reliable power.
We’re training to heal, but healing goes beyond providing care in a clinical space and requires more than just medical knowledge. It requires patients who can access prescribed treatments, communities with clean air to breathe, and an energy policy that ensures everyone has access to affordable clean power in their daily lives.
Medical Students for a Sustainable Future is a community of medical students dedicated to protecting the health of our patients and communities by fighting for climate justice. Climate change, food insecurity, and energy poverty are key social drivers of health and risk multipliers that demand systemic solutions, not cuts. Aligned with our principles, we will continue to demand policymakers to prioritize evidence-based approaches that strengthen rather than weaken community health.
We encourage interested medical students who support our mission to join our network and take action with us! Join your school’s local chapter, or for schools without an existing chapter, we encourage students to take steps to begin one at their institution!
References:
Medical Students for a Sustainable Future 