On April 21, a forum was held at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown campus, on the impact of Medicaid cuts in the Alleghenies. The event was sponsored by the group Locals for Good. The Trump administration proposes slashing $880 billion in spending cuts to pay for his 2017 tax cuts because these tax cuts are set to expire this year. As a result, these spending cuts will be impossible without slashing Medicaid.
Medicaid was created along with Medicare in 1965 as part of President Johnson’s war on poverty. While Medicare covers health insurance for then elderly, Medicaid covers it for the poorest Americans. Many elderly are covered by both Medicaid and Medicare. Conversely, Medicare covers only 80% of healthcare expenses. Many have to purchase supplemental insurance to cover the 20%. Medicaid kicks in when the elderly are destitute.
With the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid was expanded to 133% of the federal poverty level for eligibility from 100%. In the graph above, we see a 5% drop in the uninsured rates for the years 2013-2015 when the expansion and the rest of the ACA was implemented.
The forum discussion can be seen in the YouTube video at the top of the post. Currently, 27% of Cambria County and 23% of Somerset County residents are covered by Medicaid. Accordingly, this includes elderly, the disabled, and the working poor. Many healthcare workers who service this population could also have their jobs endangered by cuts to Medicaid as well as the populations that they serve.
This Saturday, April 26, there will be a Rally to Defend Medicaid in Central Park from 1PM-3PM. The flyer for the rally can be seen in the image above. All things considered, this is your chance to make the impact of Medicaid cuts in the Alleghenies known.
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**Update**
This may seem unrelated to the Medicaid rally. However money spent on Israel’s genocide on Gaza is certainly money that could be better spent on social programs like Medicaid. This rally on Sunday (information above) is your chance to make your voice heard.