Fight to Protect Medicaid and SNAP
The Republican majority in Congress is considering crippling cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits to help fund massive tax cuts that will overwhelmingly benefit wealthy individuals and corporations. To put it starkly, tax cuts for the rich at the expense of health care and food for the poor. Please contact your Congressional Representative and U.S. Senators and
Demand that they protect Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
Demand that they hold a Town Hall meeting to publicly explain their position on cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.
Congress will be on recess from March 15 through March 23. That would be a good time to contact them.
Medicaid
Medicaid is America’s primary health care program for low income children and adults. Medicaid
Covers 2 in 5 children, including foster and adoptive children.
Covers 3 in 5 nursing home patients.
Funds almost half of all births in the U.S.
Provides a substantial portion of mental health and substance abuse treatment to poor adults.
Offers services to prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, which are principal drivers of health care costs.
Medicaid Expansion, which gave states the option of extending coverage to single adults under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is one likely source of cuts. The typical Medicaid Expansion client is a member of the working poor who does not make enough money to afford private health insurance.
Currently the federal government funds 90% of Medicaid Expansion. In recent years, a number of Republican dominated states, once opposed to all things Obamacare, adopted Medicaid Expansion because of its obvious advantages in extending health care coverage, largely financed by the federal government.
A decision to reduce the percentage of federal funding would increase state costs and threaten the program’s existence. Ten states, have already devised trigger laws that would end Medicaid Expansion if federal funding is decreased. Ohio is one of those states. We can’t reasonably expect people to become self-sufficient if they don’t have access to health care or constantly struggle with rising costs that drain their budgets.
Like adoption assistance, Medicaid is an entitlement. If one meets the eligibility requirements, he or she qualifies. Another cost cutting strategy favored by Congressional Republicans would replace Medicaid's entitlement status with block grants in which each state receives a finite amount of funding. In the end, block grants would involve various Medicaid populations competing against one another for fewer Medicaid dollars.
Medicaid is widely supported by the American public. In a 2024 survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 70% of the respondents said that Medicaid should remain as it was.
Contacts:
Senator Jon Husted Washington Office (202) 224-3353; Cleveland Office 216-522-7095
See form on his page to send an e-mail message.
Senator Bernie Moreno Washington Office (202) 224-2315 ; Columbus 614-469-2083; Cleveland 216-522-7272; Cincinnati 513-684-1021
See form on his page to send an e-mail message. https://www.moreno.senate.gov/contact
Sample Message
Dear Senator ,
I am outraged that you are considering cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other critical programs in order to give massive tax breaks to the rich.
Republicans are taking food away from children and denying health care to those who need it most so that billionaires can get even richer.
This is unacceptable. You owe it to your constituents to hold a Town Hall meeting and have the courage to try and justify tax cuts paid for with cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. You owe us an explanation of who you really represent. Hardworking Americans should not be paying the price for these handouts.