Catholics Must Protect Medicaid

In the middle of the night, Republicans in Congress passed a deadly bill that will cost lives and push the most vulnerable further into poverty. This awful bill aims to make $880 billion in cuts and the party hopes to get that money from the Medicaid program. If it passes in the Senate, then these cuts would impact seniors, people with disabilities and a majority of low-income working people in the country.

Medicaid aims to care for the whole person, allows families to flourish and protects people’s dignity. So why would the Republican Party propose a bill that millions of their voters depend on?

This bill was designed to provide tax cuts to the wealthiest individuals. Simply put, stealing from the poor to give to the rich is evil.

Many will say the country is divided. While that is true, Medicaid remains a common good that unites more than it separates. If we are to be a world that is “united” and “reconciled,” rooted in love, as Pope Leo XIV calls his church to be, then we must protect the systems like Medicaid that do just that.

Taking away the right to health care is never ok, but cutting care on the backs of working people for billionaires is an injustice that works against the message of the Church, which calls the last to be first. If Medicaid funding were to be cut, then the gap between the poor and the rich in this country would grow even more, and increase hostilities among neighbors.

As Catholics, we believe that everyone deserves dignity in the workplace and a fair wage, but if you lose your job or suddenly can’t work, you are still worthy of dignity. Medicaid is one of the few programs that ensures coverage even when you lose your job.

Many in this country are barely scraping by, as costs rise and the economy remains unpredictable. Medicaid is a safety net that protects communities and families, enabling them to live in dignified conditions.

This country has many billionaires and has amassed an unfathomable amount of wealth. Yet, many Americans still do not have health care or fear going to the doctor because they simply cannot afford it.

Others suffer from medical debt or have experienced the pain of losing their healthcare suddenly when they’ve needed it the most. For many, Medicaid is what prevents people from living a life of debt and allows people to get the care they most deserve.

One of the states where these cuts would be especially deadly is California, where 60% of funding for Medicaid (or Medi-Cal as it’s called in California) is from the federal government. This was a state where two Republicans could have potentially delivered a ‘no’ vote in the House and stop this evil bill from passing. 

Specifically, Rep. David Valadao of CA-22 has one of the highest numbers of Medi-Cal recipients, not just in the state but in the country.  In his district, around half a million people are on these services.

For Valadao to vote for these cuts is an appalling way to treat his constituents. His district represents one of the poorest and most working-class areas of California, which would be devastated by these cuts.

Additionally, there is already a shortage of hospitals in the Central Valley, but even more could close if they do not have Medi-Cal reimbursements. Perhaps, worst of all is that both members repeatedly told their constituents they would not, and then they did.

In the state of California and nationwide, we have made significant strides in reducing the uninsured rate. This bill would significantly undermine that progress. It is predicted that 13.5 million Americans could lose healthcare if this measure is implemented.

As a healthcare organizer in California, I have watched people across party lines come together to ask their members here to vote “no” against this bill. I’ve traveled up and down the state, listening to doctors, healthcare workers, union members, and patients share how their lives would be forever changed if this package were to pass. Medicaid is a widely popular program and many people know someone who is on it or have been on it themselves.

As it stands, people on Medicaid make less than $20,000 a year. This coverage allows people to give birth in dignified conditions.

Medicaid also allows people with disabilities to live in their homes and honor their choices instead of being forced into facilities and segregated from society. These are hardworking community members, including farmworkers, restaurant workers, childcare providers and, sometimes, young people who unexpectedly need coverage.

In the following weeks, Republicans will work to say they are just tackling “waste, fraud, and abuse” or protecting it for “those it was intended for.” These are just cuts by another name. Perhaps, they will take a more sinister route and try to distract the American people by saying they’re only going after the undocumented or by implementing “work requirements” that would penalize people who have lost their jobs.

Anyone in the healthcare space will tell you this is a tightly woven ecosystem and any disruption to it will be felt on all ends. When people are insured, emergency rooms are less crowded, and overall public health improves.

The pandemic made clear what the Catholic Church has always believed: we do not live isolated lives, but are an interconnected society that has rights and responsibilities for each other. This bill is ugly and amplifies the sin of greed. Catholics must protect the sacredness of Medicaid.