OP/ED: Rep. Young Kim Voted to Gut Healthcare — And She Hopes You Weren’t Paying Attention

July 2, 2025

By Brian Hews

If you’re one of the thousands of residents in California’s 40th Congressional District who relies on Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, or food assistance to get by, your representative just sold you out—and did it with a smile.

Last month, Rep. Young Kim voted in favor of the GOP’s grotesquely named “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a Trump-backed budget scheme that will rip health coverage from millions while showering the wealthiest Americans with tax breaks they don’t need.

The bill slashes over $1 trillion from Medicaid and nutrition assistance programs and imposes new work requirements that will result in mass disenrollments—particularly among low-income seniors, disabled people, and working families who don’t clock in from 9 to 5 in front of a Republican-approved timecard.

This is not hyperbole. It’s math.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates up to 17 million people could lose healthcare coverage under this plan. And in California, nearly 3.5 million could be cut from Medicaid alone. The bill’s fine print makes it clear: eligibility redeterminations every six months, harsh work mandates, and immigration restrictions designed to chill access even for legal residents. It’s bureaucratic cruelty posing as fiscal responsibility.

And Kim? She voted yes.

This from the same representative who claims to care about affordability, families, and small businesses. But there is nothing “affordable” about yanking health coverage during a time when the cost of care is skyrocketing. There is nothing “pro-family” about slashing food benefits while doling out billions in tax breaks to hedge fund managers and real estate investors. And there is nothing “pro-small business” about removing the safety net from the very workers who power those businesses every day.

Let’s not forget: Young Kim also voted against the American Rescue Plan, against the Inflation Reduction Act, and against every major piece of legislation that sought to lower prescription drug costs, expand access to care, or help communities recover from the pandemic. Her record is not one of moderation. It’s one of calculated indifference.

Even worse, her yes vote on this healthcare hit job wasn’t born of economic necessity. It was political obedience—to Trump, to the MAGA wing of her party, and to a fantasy budget that trades lives for campaign cash. Make no mistake: this is class warfare. And Young Kim picked a side.

Some of her colleagues tried to dress up the bill with local sweeteners like SALT deduction expansions or vague job training promises. But that’s like throwing a lollipop in the casket and calling it compromise. The body count—literal and figurative—will be in the millions.

So what we’re left with is a redistribution of wealth—from the poor to the rich—with Rep. Kim smiling in the background as her donors toast her at the next fundraiser.

California’s 40th District deserves better. Voters deserve a representative who shows up for families, not corporations. Who defends health care, not undermines it. Who knows the difference between leadership and complicity.

In 2024, Young Kim asked for your vote. In 2025, she voted to take your healthcare away. Remember that in 2026.