By Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Medicaid is a lifeline for 2.6 million Michiganders. But Republicans in Washington are moving forward with dangerous cuts that terminate health care for millions of Americans, force critical health facilities to close, and raise the cost of health care for all Michiganders. Today, I want to talk about how we’re fighting for Medicaid and working to protect access to health care.
Too many people don’t know how important Medicaid is, or how much it affects us even if we don’t use it ourselves. It covers three in five nursing home residents, nearly half the births in the state, 300,000 people living with disabilities, and supports rural hospitals and crucial services in our public schools. Medicaid helps parents take their kids to the doctor’s office for yearly physicals; cancer patients get chemo; veterans receive mental health care; seniors get hearing aids or enter a nursing home; expectant moms watch their babies on ultrasound; women get birth control. These aren’t strangers. They are our families, friends, and neighbors.
Republican cuts would slash Medicaid by hundreds of billions of dollars and kick more than half a million of our friends and neighbors off their health care. The results for Michigan would be catastrophic. Working families would be unable to see a doctor when they get sick. Rural hospitals would close, forcing Michiganders to travel farther to get basic care. Nursing homes would lose hundreds of millions in funding and feel pressure to cut costs. Michigan providers could lose out on half a billion dollars in Medicaid funding annually, raising the cost of health care for all of us—even those who aren’t on Medicaid.
My whole career, I’ve fought for Medicaid and worked to expand access to affordable health care for Michiganders. As a state Senator, I worked with Governor Snyder on Healthy Michigan, which now covers nearly 750,000 people. As Governor, I signed bills codifying the Affordable Care Act into state law to protect Michiganders with preexisting conditions and let kids stay on their parents’ insurance until they turn 26. Last month, I signed an executive directive directing state government to study the effects of Medicaid cuts in Michigan and how best to respond.
I’ve also heard from over 16,000 Michiganders who sent a clear message: “hands off Medicaid!” I hear you loud and clear. I’ll keep fighting hard to protect Medicaid and Michiganders’ access to quality, affordable health care.
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