Thank you for Lucy Gelman’s March 19 [New Haven Independent] article: “Blumenthal will oppose Trump reduction of anti-poverty money” and thanks to Sen. Richard Blumenthal for his commitment to fight cuts in the President’s budget that will devastate communities that are having success protecting and supporting populations in need.
This new administration is turning on the very people it promised to help. And Congress is riding that wave with its new health-care proposal, balancing the budget on the backs of the poorest among us through drastic changes to existing health insurance and devastating changes to Medicaid.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that under the proposed bill, 24 million people – 14 million of them on Medicaid – would lose health coverage over the next 10 years. It would also raise premiums on low-income seniors by 750 percent, causing many to do without health care at an advanced age. Medicaid would be capped, forcing states to ration care, shoulder more costs and deny health coverage to children, parents, seniors and people with disabilities.
Cynically, the proposal takes good care of the young, the prosperous and the drug and insurance companies. It expects us not to protest because it assumes we think Medicaid is only for the poorest, the most vulnerable, the voiceless. But many middle class seniors receive assistance and end of life care in Medicaid facilities.
As a nation, we are only as strong and healthy as the poorest among us. We need to reinforce, not rip apart, programs that help millions of low-income Americans.
Call your elected representatives or senators and tell them you support rejecting all efforts to cut anti-poverty programs.
Lucinda Winslow is a resident of Stamford who volunteers with the non-partisan advocacy organization, RESULTS, which seeks to build the political will to end poverty.