“My son has cystic fibrosis and type 1 diabetes. Medicaid has literally saved his life. As a single low income parent I can barely afford to provide housing and food… My child deserves to have the life-saving medications he needs and he also deserves to have a home and food. Without Medicaid, I don't think he can have all those things.”
Quick signature: Tell Congress no cuts to Medicaid!
What’s happening? Right now, some Republicans in Congress are threatening to crash the U.S. and world economy by refusing to lift the debt ceiling (the amount our government can borrow to pay our existing bills which also happens to be a totally arbitrary number) in order to extract massive cuts to critical programs for families like Medicaid. [1] We cannot let them play chicken with our health care. The time is NOW to speak out to protect Medicaid!
Over the years, we’ve received hundreds of stories like the one above from a mom in Colorado about how critical Medicaid is for families. Whether it’s for preventive care, physical or speech therapy, expensive medications, maintenance of a chronic condition, or nursing home care, Medicaid is a life-saving and life-sustaining health insurance program for over 84 Million people in the U.S. [2] It helps to keep our children, families, and communities healthy.
These past few years have made it crystal clear that it is critical for everyone to have health care and that our neighbors’ health is tied to our own. Medicaid ensures some of our most vulnerable family members and community members can access essential services like doctor visits, hospital stays, prescription drugs, and long-term/nursing home care.
The Medicaid program serves children, people who are disabled, elderly, or pregnant, and low-income individuals. It is also essential to reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health coverage. Nearly half of all births are paid for by Medicaid [3] and it provides health coverage for about 40% of all children in the U.S. [4] In addition, it is the single biggest payer of behavioral health services.
When you click, you’ll automatically sign on to our petition that reads:
Dear Congress,
Everyone deserves to receive health care when they get sick. No exceptions. This is why we urge you to reject any proposal to cut Medicaid funding!
Health care prices continue to rise faster than inflation and too many households are already facing health and economic insecurity. We cannot afford to cut funding for a program that has such a profound impact on the health and well-being of millions of Americans. Instead, we urge you to prioritize investments in Medicaid that will strengthen the program and ensure that everyone has access to affordable, high-quality health care.
If we’ve collectively learned one lesson these last few years, it should be that our neighbors’ health is tied to our own. We must ensure that everyone can get preventive care and receive treatment when they get sick. Medicaid serves children, people who are disabled, elderly, or pregnant, and hard-working low-income individuals. It provides coverage for essential services like doctor visits, hospital stays, prescription drugs, and long-term/nursing home care. Nearly half of all births are paid for by Medicaid and it provides health coverage for about 40% of all children in the U.S. It is the single biggest payer of behavioral health services. In addition, while there is still progress to be made, Medicaid is essential to reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health coverage.
Thanks for taking action to protect the health and lives of the millions of people who are insured through Medicaid! The more people who speak out, the bigger our impact. Please take a moment to share our action link with your friends and family: https://action.momsrising.org/sign/nomedicaidcuts_2023
Together we are a powerful voice for the health of families.
P.S. Have you or someone you love benefited from Medicaid? Tell us about it!
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.
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