Save Medicaid - One Small Action You Can Take Today

A Political Post

I just got off the phone from calling my representative in Congress. Most mornings, I give them a call about the topic I find most pressing. Today, I told the polite assistant who answered the phone that I was opposed to certain provisions in the Budget Reconciliation Bill currently before Congress. Those provisions threaten to reduce or eliminate funding for Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. The biggest target of these three is Medicaid.

Some people have told me they don’t care about Medicaid because they don’t use it. Other people think stripping poor people of their access to healthcare is a good thing. I know some people feel like Medicaid recipients are getting “something for nothing” and they feel like their tax dollars are supporting someone else. Your tax dollars are definitely supporting other people. And here’s the kicker. My tax dollars are supporting you.

Do you drive your car on a public road, receive mail via the U.S. Postal Service, drink clean water from your tap? You’re welcome. Those are public assets paid for and owned by all of us. That’s what government does. It takes care of the big things we can’t do ourselves so we can focus on the things that are big in our own personal lives.

Photo by Joel Moysuh on Unsplash

Do you benefit from Medicaid? Absolutely. Hospitals, nursing homes, ambulance services all receive a certain amount of their cash flows from Medicaid reimbursement. They build it into their budgets. They rely on that income.

What happens if Medicaid suddenly goes away? Hospitals won’t be able to meet their operating income. They will have to lay off staff, postpone elective surgeries, maybe close their doors on smaller locations to consolidate their services. You will have to drive further and wait longer to be seen in the ER or to have outpatient surgery.

Photo by Graham Ruttan on Unsplash

Nursing homes see a big chunk of their income from Medicaid as indigent elderly, especially those with dementia, rely on Medicaid for their care. What happens if those benefits are abruptly cut off? Do they turf grandma out onto the street? I wrote about the explosion of seniors among the homeless population. Do we really want to see Alzheimer’s patients wandering the streets? Even if they have family who can take them in, that means they will require someone to quit their job to provide around-the-clock care, plunging the entire family into poverty.

Ambulance services likewise budget for a portion of their reimbursement to come from Medicaid. If they lose those funds, they will have to cut back the number of units on the road. That will mean longer wait times for emergency services for everyone.

The bottom line is that even if you don’t use Medicaid, cuts to the program will affect you. It could be the minor inconvenience of having to drive further for medical care because the location nearest you closed. It could also mean an ambulance doesn’t get to you in time during a medical emergency.

Edit: This article was released today with greater detail on the proposed Medicaid cuts: Medicaid Cuts a Likely Result of Congressional Budget Negotiations

What Can You Do About This?

Take a couple minutes out of your day to look up your representative in U.S. Congress today. Here’s the link: Find My Rep https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

You can make a phone call or send an email. I did both.

Here’s the short and sweet email I sent to my rep:

Dear Representative XXX,

I am writing to you today to insist that you vote NO on any budget reconciliation or any other bill that threatens to touch even a dime of funding for Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.
  
Sincerely,
[Name]

You can do this to protect the most vulnerable among us as well as yourself and your family. We are all interconnected.

Thank you for reading.