Join Activists Doing Heavy Lifting to Protect Medicaid
A little girl in a tutu with her mom at a podium at the U.S. Capitol. A member of Congress bending down toward a child in a wheelchair. Activists in wheel chairs arrested in front of a Capitol hearing room. The latest powerful advocacy images from the American resistance came from the community of people with disabilities fighting for their own Medicaid benefits. If you haven’t been engaged in activism to protect social services or constitutional rights, I beg you to think about the tremendous effort of these activists and ask yourself, “Why not?”
Wednesday, May 7, I watched on YouTube as the medically complex children of Little Lobbyists joined MomsRising and Caring Across Generations for the 24-hour #ProtectMedicaid vigil in Washington, D.C. They sat on the steps. They met members of Congress. Their parents told stories about how Medicaid helps them thrive and be at home with loving families. How worried does a mom have to be to bring her vulnerable child to the Capitol hundreds or thousands of miles away?
Yesterday, as House members debated the budget reconciliation bill, adult protesters in wheelchairs showed up to chant “No cuts to Medicaid!” before being arrested and dragged away. They did this because the U.S. House Republicans in the hearing were pushing a deal that would reduce the budget by $880 billion — largely from Medicaid — in order to help fund an extension of President Trump’s 2017 tax-cut package. How desperate does a person with a disability have to feel about losing health benefits to put their bodies at risk in this way?
What is Medicaid?
Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the U.S., providing coverage for over 80 million people. Individuals and families with low incomes access essential health care services through Medicaid. It improves health outcomes and reduces unpaid emergency room visits. Medicaid covers 40 percent of births in the U.S. — and up to 50 percent in rural areas. For many seniors, Medicaid is the only way to afford long-term nursing home care. For the kids at the Capitol, it helps them with necessities like equipment, medications, ER visits, and even caregivers. Medicaid is the only source of coverage for one in three children with special health care needs.
Protest to Protect
Protesting is one of the most worrying forms of advocacy even at a peaceful, legal protest. So many variables bring complications. Heat, storms, the behavior of opponents, and the behavior of police can cause discomfort or even injury to anyone involved. I understand why people come up to me and tell me they feel they can’t protest. Yet I, for one, can’t sit by and watch toddlers with feeding tubes do my civic duty without taking action myself.
I know it’s tiring to be outside. In St. Louis lately, it seems like it always rains on us. But most of our local protests only involve standing or sitting by the road waving signs for a few hours. You can stay for 20 minutes and even be within 20 feet of your own car if you need to leave or take a break. Local organizers set things up so anyone able to grocery shop without help can take part.
If you still feel you can’t protest, there are many other ways to resist, like taking this online action from RESULTS right now. I’ve patiently listened to adult, white, American citizens tell me how they don’t feel safe writing their name and address on an email or letter voicing polite concerns about Medicaid and SNAP funding. But watching vulnerable people do the hardest things is making my patience run thin. If you’re in a position of privilege, know you’re far safer dropping a letter in a mailbox than the protesters arrested at a hearing. If we all take mass action, we help keep each other safe.
I am NOT telling you we should take the place of these brave activists and silence powerful voices. I’m saying we should support them and advocate WITH them. By fighting for their own care, they fight for ours as well. Medicaid benefits everyone when it helps hospitals and other services stay available to all.
Time to Get Uncomfortable
Resistance is uncomfortable. If we don’t do uncomfortable things, it’s going to take much more difficult forms of action later. For example, phone-banking and canvassing during the election were inconvenient. Yet it’s far easier to volunteer for election campaigns than to protest month after month. If we don’t protest and advocate now, it will be much harder to act next year once budget damage is done.
I promise I’ll continue to fight to protect Medicaid, too, with my phone calls, donations, social media posts, mailed letters, letters to the editor, and - yes - with my protest signs. I’ll help you do it, too, with the Advocacy How-To resources on this blog.
Think about the folks on the front lines and at the resources you have. Save the date of June 14th for the next nationwide protest date called “No Kings Day.” Then, with these courageous activists fresh in your mind, decide…in the Medicaid battle and other battles for our rights and services, what will you do to work beside them?
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