Despite the high public support for Medicaid and the public outcry against cuts to the program, Congress is still considering proposals that take away health care of everyday Americans just to fund tax breaks for billionaires. Over the next two weeks, Congress will be working to rapidly finalize their proposals that could gut Medicaid. In addition to these threats to Medicaid, Congress is considering cutting SNAP and other essential programs – all so they can fund trillions of dollars in tax breaks for billionaires and fund the separation of local families and neighbors who are stuck in limbo because of long-outdated immigration laws.
These cuts to Medicaid could not only harm hundreds of thousands of Nebraskans, they would also destabilize our health systems, making healthcare more difficult to access for everyone.
Some proposals under consideration include, among others:
- Cutting Medicaid Expansion Funding, even though:
- Nebraskans want a strong Medicaid expansion program. Over 133,000 Nebraskans signed a petition to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot, and in 2018, voters approved Medicaid expansion.
- Medicaid expansion covers many Nebraskans who do not have other options to access health care, including people with disabilities and parents.
- Medicaid expansion is critical for the sustainability of providers and hospitals, increases consumer spending, and supports a strong workforce.
Learn more about why Medicaid expansion is important to Nebraska in our Medicaid Expansion report here.
- Imposing Work Requirements, even though:
- Work requirements don’t result in more people working, they just result in more people losing Medicaid and access to health care. Estimates indicate that tens of thousands of Nebraskans will lose Medicaid under work requirements.
- 92% of adults with Medicaid already either work, care for a family member, have an illness or disability, or attend school.
- Nebraskans don’t want work requirements. Nebraska tried to implement work requirements, and over 400 comments were submitted in opposition to the plan.
- Work requirements are expensive and burdensome to implement and will drastically increase state spending.
Now, more than ever, Nebraskans need to take action to protect our health care. Here’s how you can help:
- Share Why Medicaid is Important to You – Your personal story is one of the most powerful tools to persuade and create change. Share your story today by responding to this email or contacting our health care community organizer Freedom at fthompson@neappleseed.org.
- Contact Your Members of Congress – Contact your members of Congress using some of the talking points above and find additional talking points here.
