U.S. Reps. Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), State Lawmakers, and Health Care Advocates Join Protect Our Care
To wrap up Medicaid Awareness Month, Protect Our Care held events across ten states this week, spotlighting the dangerous fallout of the GOP’s war on health care. From Alaska to Pennsylvania, state representatives, health care professionals, community leaders, and advocates came together to mark the ninth annual Medicaid Awareness Month and hold Republican lawmakers accountable for cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Communities across the country are paying the price, facing skyrocketing premiums and a growing wave of hospital closures. Children, seniors, people with disabilities, and working families are being hit the hardest, all while Trump and congressional Republicans help the rich get richer. The American people will not forget who put their health care in jeopardy, and they will demand accountability at the ballot box this November.
ARIZONA
Wednesday, April 29 – Virtual Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva and Health Care Advocates. Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva said, “They are literally trading the health of our neighbors for the profits of a few. Medicaid is the largest health insurance provider in this country, covering 68 million Americans. Here in Arizona, it is a lifeline for more than 1.5 million people. These are our children, our seniors, nursing homes, and families who work multiple jobs just to keep the lights on. Republicans pretend to be anti-bureaucracy, yet they pass laws that are designed to bury Arizonans in red tape and prevent them from getting Medicaid coverage.” You can watch the full event here.
COLORADO
Thursday, April 30 – Hospital Event with Ret. Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher, Patients, and Health Care Advocates. Adam Fox, Deputy Director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, said, “Medicaid is the foundation of our health care system, and H.R. 1 is a direct attack on that foundation. Coloradans are already being forced to choose between seeing the doctor, filling a prescription, or putting food on the table. And soon, Coloradans on Medicaid will also face a sick tax with out-of-pocket costs for the care that they need, but won’t be able to afford.”
- Loveland Herald: Candidate, patients gather in Loveland to oppose Medicaid cuts
GEORGIA
Friday, May 1 – Virtual Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Representative Dr. Michelle Au and Health Care Advocates. State Representative Dr. Michelle Au said, “We live in a state with among the highest rates of people lacking health insurance, so my ability to provide that care that I’ve been trained to give is limited by the ability of my patients being able to reach me in the first place. Here in Georgia alone, one recent study estimates that nearly half of a million patients will lose their health care coverage. In Georgia, Republicans are not concerned the constituents in their districts are losing health coverage. They don’t think that their constituents’ health coverage is worth having. I’ve worked in medicine essentially my entire adult life. Taking care of patients and doing everything I can to ensure that they stay healthy is my life’s work, and I can tell you this, this current federal administration and the decisions they make are simply not survivable for many Georgians.”
IOWA
Saturday, April 25 – Hospital Event with State Leaders and Health Care Advocates. State Senator Mike Zimmer said, “Iowans deserve access to reliable, affordable, local healthcare. All five of our children were born in Clinton, so this closure is personal for my family. Iowans in more than half the counties in the state are without access to obstetric care close to home, and now our friends and neighbors here in Clinton County will see labor and delivery options reduced. This is another sad chapter in the decline of services in Iowa.” You can view the post-event release here.
Wednesday, April 29 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Medicaid Advocates and Health Care Advocates. Dr. Kimiya Nourian, an Iowa physician, said, “When rural hospitals and clinics close or reduce services, those patients have to come to the urban areas like Des Moines or Iowa City. When that happens, wait times get longer for everyone, and things like specialty care get delayed longer and people get sicker. It is imperative that our Representatives know that decisions to cut programs like Medicaid are bad for all of us.” You can watch the full event here.
MICHIGAN
Thursday, April 30 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with State Representative Rogers and Health Care Advocates. State Rep. Rogers said, “For more than 2 million working Michigan families, Medicaid is a lifeline that helps them see a doctor, get care, manage chronic medical conditions and live healthy, meaningful lives. One in four working people in Kalamazoo County count on Medicaid to see a doctor, get treated for heart disease or cancer, and manage long-term medical conditions like diabetes, asthma and arthritis…On this ninth Medicaid Awareness Month, I’m calling on all Michiganders to join the fight to protect Medicaid for our friends, family and neighbors who rely on it every day.” You can watch the full event here and read the post-event release here.
- CBS TV: Call to Reverse Medicaid Cuts: MI Democrats Want Accountability From Republicans
- WLAJ: Advocates Warn About Impact of Medicaid Cuts
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Friday, April 24 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with New Hampshire Health and Policy Experts. Deborah H. Fournier, JD, Director of Health Law & Policy at the Institute for Health Policy and Practice, said, “Any additional steps—work requirements, more eligibility checks, out-of-pocket costs—make it harder for people to enroll and stay enrolled, and that’s going to depress coverage. Fifty billion in new investment cannot replace nearly a trillion dollars being pulled out of Medicaid—the system simply can’t make up that difference.” You can read the post-event release here.
NORTH CAROLINA
Tuesday, April 28 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with U.S. Representative Valerie Foushee and State Rep. Zack Hawkins. Rep. Zack Hawkins said, “In Martin County in Eastern North Carolina, the county hospital is closed. So that means, you have to go an hour or two hours just to get care. That’s emergency care. That’s maternal care. Which puts further strain on other hospitals and on other systems. It seems like our friends on the other side of the aisle just don’t have a good sense of how important health care is to the workforce and the economy.”
On the discussion of waste, fraud and abuse, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee said, “None of us want that. Identify it and eliminate it. Blanket cuts just for the purpose of cutting to say that this is how you plan to eliminate it, does nothing for eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. What has been obvious is that you have used this mantra to effectively lower taxes for people who don’t need their taxes lowered.” You can watch the full event here and read the post-event release here.
OHIO
Tuesday, April 28 – Hospital Closure Event at Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio – Hamilton with Health Care Advocates. Dr. Kristin Dinkelaker, Committee to Protect Healthcare and a Cincinnati pediatrician, said, “We currently have about 8,000 patients and 20% of those are insured through Medicaid. We are one of the few remaining privately owned pediatric practices in Cincinnati that accept Medicaid, so many of our families drive upward of an hour to come to our clinic. I would describe the majority of the families who we take care of as hardworking, working-class families who care deeply about their children. It’s the dad who comes straight from the construction site with mud on his boots and callused hands, holding his nine month old on his lap.” You can view the post-event release here.
PENNSYLVANIA
Thursday, April 30 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Mayor Cognetti and PA Rep Kosierowski. Mayor Cognetti, Rep Kosierowski, and others joined Protect Our Care Pennsylvania to highlight how Medicaid providers are preparing for difficult times after Republicans cut $1 trillion from Medicaid.
- WOLF: Leaders in Scranton sounding the alarm over federal Medicaid cuts
VIRGINIA
Thursday, April 23 – Hospital Event with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia and Storytellers. Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said, “Tens of thousands of Virginians rely on a Planned Parenthood health center for care, from birth control to cancer screenings to STI detection and treatment. Medicaid is one of the primary ways those patients pay for care. When politicians interfere with our ability to make personal health decisions — to choose their provider, to access preventive care — entire communities suffer.” You can view the post-event release here.
- Rappahannock Times: Organizations Blast Wittman Over Healthcare Cuts