Medicaid sign at the press conference of the US Senate Democrats on February 19, 2025 (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
Mother’s Day may just have passed, but what has not passed is the growing threat to mothers like me in the whole country. While many of us were celebrated with cards and flowers, the legislators presented a budget in Washington to survive the programs that lend a hand us to survive.
The Congression Budget Office (CBO) recently published a terrifying report: Republican heads of state and government are pushing a federal budget proposal to reduce 880 billion US dollars from health care, in particular Medicaid, in order to finance another tax benefits for the richest Americans. This is not a gift for mothers. This is a stomach.
As a working mother in Kentucky, who grew up two attractive daughters, Medicaid was the difference between survival and hatch through the cracks. It enables me to access regular examinations, medication, dental appointments and imperative care, not only for me, but also for my children. I work two jobs. Neither health insurance and pays a living. Without medicaid, we would not have a safety net, no way to stay vigorous and no protection if something goes wrong.
I can’t imagine what I would do without Medicaid or Snap advantages. This support is not a handout. So I keep my family going in a system that too often does not appreciate mothers like me.
Let us be clear. The majority in the congress suggests that the Medicaid expansion, which is due to a lifeline for millions, can be recalled. Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), only seniors, people with disabilities, children and pregnant women who qualified for Medicaid. Workers with low incomes were left out. The ACA changed that. In Kentucky, the expansion of Medicaid in 2014 reduced the number of people who are not insured drastically, saved rural hospitals and provided access to mental health and additives in emergencies for public health.
Most of those who received reporting from the expansion were women, especially mothers. After birth, Medicaid became even more vital than the postpartum cover was extended, which gave up-to-date mothers a whole year health care. It also supports preventive care and chronic disease treatment in women of childbearing age and helps to achieve better results.
Ten states still refuse to expand Medicaid and do not allow millions to be insured. And instead of promoting progress, the congress suggests to withdraw the healthcare supply to those of us who need it most urgently.
Although I worked two jobs, I can’t yet afford food without a medicaid and snap. However, the congress rewards billionaires with tax cuts while they target mothers like me because of cuts. This is not justice. That is betrayal.
Medicaid is the largest source of federal financing in every state. In Kentucky, more than 1.5 million people rely on it. The performance of these lifeline would damage families and damage from schools, hospitals, clinics and emergency services that depend on Medicaid dollars. 516,500 people rely on Medicaid over the mountains in West Virginia. This comprises 49,000 seniors, 196,000 children and 86,000 people with disabilities. One thing is clear in Appalachia: our families are dependent on these survival programs.
That is not what the American people voted for. Medicaid has broad support from Democrats, Republicans and Independent. Most of us know someone who rely on it, be it a mother, a grandparent, a child or a neighbor.
We have to protect the programs that appreciate our lives when we appreciate mothers. This is not just about politics. It’s about dignity. It’s about survival.
If the congress can afford to give billionaires tax benefits, it can afford to offer millions of mothers, children, grandparents and people with disabilities that need health care.
Our representatives must protect Medicaid, mothers and the people who hold this country together every day. Families breaks down the weight loss of mothers.
