Enough Is Enough!’ Why ‘White Coats’ Will March at Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ Rallies

by Joan Bedinghaus M.D., Seth Foldy M.D., MPH and Jacob Weiss, M.D.

This Saturday, March 28, thousands of Coloradans from all walks of life will gather in Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Cortez, Grand Junction, Manitou, and more than 50 other Centennial State communities to participate in “No Kings” day rallies. 

Among the marchers will be hundreds of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other public health workers.

Why are doctors and their colleagues marching in the streets? 

As health care professionals, we feel ethically bound to protest the damage to our patients and neighbors caused by President Donald Trump and his so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA). Just look at the catastrophic results:

• 150,000 Coloradans will lose health insurance.
• Health insurance costs will double for 225,000 Coloradans in 2026.
• Ten of 43 rural hospitals in Colorado are at risk of closingbecause of cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.
• Trump’s appointees to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control have disrupted immunization schedules while measles, whooping cough, and other preventable outbreaks spread. 
• President Trump has frozen spending for financial assistance, childcare, and job training for needy families, slashed millions in AIDS and sexually transmitted disease funding, and vetoed the Arkansas Valley Conduit project, which would have brought clean water to many communities.
• As wildfires, drought, and extreme weather threaten our health, safety, and livelihoods, Trump and his allies are dismantling climate research and Environmental Protection Agency safeguards. 
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have made many people afraid to go to hospitals, schools, and even grocery stores.  Poor conditions in ICE detention centers have been implicated in 32 deaths in 2025 and 11 so far in 2026. 

Enough is enough! As health care professionals, we are committed to protecting our patients and serving our communities.  As Americans, we must act to protect our democracy.

That’s why we have formed Health Workers Speak Out, a new, Colorado-based, all-volunteer effort by and for health workers opposed to the harmful impacts of the Trump administration’s policies.  All active or retired health care allies are invited to support our shared cause. 

For the upcoming Saturday, March 28, No Kings rally in Denver, we will be gathering at noon at the southwest corner of East 14 Ave. and Lincoln St.  Please join us there — or learn more here.

Dr. Joan Bedinghaus is a retired family physician. Dr. Seth Foldy is a family physician with an additional degree in public health. Dr. Jacob Weiss is a family physician with a focus on treating addiction.

Posters and Placards

Under construction:

This shared space is for messaging ideas, to be used by health workers (and others)

Please stay tuned for and share placard/poster ideas for messaging around harmful effects of Trump's policies info@healthworkersspeakout.org  Subject line: POSTER

Healthcare access:

States to lose $664 billion in Medicaid budgets through 2034

330 hospitals threatened by Trump/GOP’s Big Ugly bill

280,000 Coloradans face higher ACA premium tax credits while providers suffer $145 million loss

ACA costs spur care and affordability worries

Rural hospital program misses the mark

1 in 7 fail to pay January ACA premiums

Workforce:

 28,000 US health jobs disappeared after Trump/GOP’s Big Ugly bill; more to come

Visa freeze sidelines immigrant doctors

Equity, Ethics, Human Rights:

Healthcare deficiencies in ICE detention decried

Profit-driven system leads to moral injury

Black Americans face disproportionate harm from HHS policies

Care for disabilities threatened by Medicaid cuts

OMB seeks unprecedented access to Federal employee health records

Public Health & Environment

RFK Jr losing steam?

Multi-prong attack on vaccine access & trust

 Lasting damage to vaccinations despite legal victory

CDC report on COVID-19 vaccine benefits delayed

EPA threatens greater heavy metal pollution

Opportunities remain for climate-positive action in Congress

Reproductive and Sexual Health

Hands Off Mifepristone week of action

States conceal data as abortion bans take effect