SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. () — Southern Californians participated in Tuesday’s “Medicaid Day of Action,” a series of rallies calling on congressional Republicans to reject plans to crawl back Medicaid funding.
Medicaid provides health care for low-income and disabled Americans, and Democrats warn that cuts to the program would have devastating effects.
“If these programs are cut, people will get sick, people will be unemployed and people will die,” said Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat who represents California’s 37th congressional district, which includes South Los Angeles.
The Trump administration has promised to slice $880 billion out of the next budget, and experts say most of that will have come from Medicaid. The House committee in charge of the budget has been directed not to touch Medicare, the popular health care program for senior adults, leaving Medicaid next on the chopping block.
Nearly 7.5 million people in Southern California are enrolled in Medi-Cal — the state’s Medicaid program — including 43% of L.A. County residents, 32% of Orange County residents, and 45% of San Bernardino residents.
Concerns over potential Medicaid cuts have spurred rallies and demonstrations across the state and the country. In the Inland Empire, Representative Pete Aguilar held an event Tuesday in San Bernardino. And the S.E.I.U. staged a rally outside Representative Young Kim’s office in Anaheim, demanding the Orange County Republican reject any cuts to Medicaid.
“If we don’t have these services and we don’t have this funding, we are not going to be able to provide for our community,” said Courtney Lee, an in-home health service provider who attended the S.E.I.U. rally.
Democrats need at least three Republican votes in the House of Representatives to reject funding cuts, and they are asking the public to contact Republican members of Congress to protect Medicaid.
Health care groups are waiting for news on how Republicans plan to distribute the proposed cuts, but in the meantime, some are advocating on behalf of the many low-income families who rely on the government-funded program.
“We have to go into those districts, we’re going to do TV advertising, social media advertising… and use our message to save Medicaid,” said Jim Mangia, president and C.E.O. of St. John’s Community Health.
A Congressional vote on proposed Medicaid cuts is expected within the next few weeks.
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