One of the myths about the devastating cuts to Medicaid in the so-called “big, beautiful bill” is that only those who are enrolled in the health insurance program would be hurt.
That’s not true. Virtually every American will see the impact of these cuts on their own care — not just millions of the most vulnerable Americans who are Medicaid recipients.
AFSCME nurses serve on the front lines of care in our hospitals. They understand how different pieces of our health care system are interconnected.
Several AFSCME nurses traveled from Michigan to Washington, D.C., last week to explain to Congress how Medicaid cuts would harm the health care system as a whole. A New York medical professional also joined them on their visit.
Rachel Chapin was a single mother who relied on Medicaid to for care for her family as she worked her way through nursing school. A member of Local 875 (AFSCME Michigan 925) said anyone who goes to a hospital will feel the pain of Medicaid cuts.
“If you come into the emergency room,” Chapin said, “there's going to be more patients. Your wait times are going to be longer. It’s going to be less safe. And you're not going to have as many nurses to take care of more patients.”
Kelly Indish, the president of Local 875 and an AFSCME vice president, pointed out that hospitals are likely to close as the result of these cuts.
“We're going to see layoffs, we're going to see cuts to our ancillary staff, we're going to see cuts to non-bedside nursing, and we may also see hospitals close,” Indish said.
“If they cut Medicaid,” said Erica Place, another Local 875 member, “we're going to see an increase in all sorts of patients because they're not going to have the resources they formerly did through their primary care.”
Price summed up how nurses feel about Medicaid being cut by billions of dollars if the Senate passes the House-approved budget bill. “We're going to be overrun. We're already struggling here.”
Join the fight to stop the budget bill in the Senate. Text GO to 237263 to get alerts and learn how you can join the fight and Get Organized.