Ohio State Rep. Josh Williams speak to guests before the Ohio Republican Party dinner, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Lima, Ohio. (AP Photo/Lauren Leigh Bacho)

Ohio state Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.), who is running for the U.S. House against incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), contends that the Medicaid cuts passed by his party will not lead to unnecessary deaths.

During an interview with Andrew Wilkow on the Aug. 1 edition of “The Wilkow Majority Show,” Williams agreed with the false sentiment that Republicans are not taking any benefits away from constituents.

“The One Big Beautiful Bill, the Democrats like Marcy Kaptur continue to try to push this narrative that we’re going to be kicking people off Medicare and Medicaid and people are going to die because they don’t have health care, and that’s an absolute false narrative that needs to be corrected,” Williams said.

Contrary to Williams’ assessment, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the One Big Beautiful Bill will reduce federal spending for Medicaid by $698 billion and decrease enrollment in the program by 10.3 million people over the next decade. The CBO also estimates as many as 302,000 jobs will be lost in the health care sector, and over 100 hospitals in rural areas of the country will be at high risk of closure.

A June study from Annals of Internal Medicine found that the cuts and subsequent loss of health insurance and facilities could result in as many as over 10,000 medically preventable deaths annually.

Williams’ claim that people will not lose coverage is also verifiably false. The CBO also estimates that Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, which Williams is running to represent, will see more than 18,000 people lose their Medicaid coverage and over 13,000 people lose their access through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) because of cuts to the ACA’s tax credits.

Kaptur is seeking her 23rd consecutive term in Congress, and she is the longest-serving woman in congressional history. Last November, she defeated Republican challenger Derek Merrin, who is also seeking the GOP nomination in 2026.