Donald Trump and maga Republicans attacking healthcare with Medicaid cuts devastating patient access to financially stressed hospitals

Donald Trump and maga Republican attacks on healthcare is expensive and dangerous:  Echo opinion letter published in the Ottowa News Network, in Michigan: ONN is a nonprofit newsroom that ensures all people in Ottawa County have access to trusted news.

All people have a fundamental right to healthcare, and, as a society, it benefits us to have people who are healthy in terms of people’s ability to work, the reduction of spreading illness, and curbing mental health crises.

A wrong minded, misleading and unsupported opinion in USA Today that claims Medicaid has been disconnected from helping its recipients to find work. It also claims that tens of millions of able-bodied adults are trapped in government dependency and not flourishing because they are not working.

The piece further purports that the cuts Donald Trump and Republicans made to Medicaid are not gutting Medicaid, but preserving the core of the safety net for the truly vulnerable and that he and his fellow Republicans are helping millions of able-bodied adults leave welfare and find work. He makes much the same claims for the SNAP program. This article completely ignores the facts.

The following statistics are from the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent source for health policy research:

• 64% who receive Medicaid are already working either full- or part-time❗
• 12% are not working due to caregiving responsibilities.
• 10% are not working due to illness or disability.
• 7% are attending school to improve their ability to attain work.
• 8% are retired or unable to find work.

*Note: Total does not sum to 100%, due to rounding.

So, where are the tens of millions of able-bodied adults not working❓ The 64% who are working are in jobs that don’t offer healthcare to their employees, which is why they qualify for help. 

In addition, these people don’t earn enough to qualify for a premium subsidy under the Affordable Care Act, making the ACA policies unaffordable.

The cuts made to Medicaid and the changes made to the Affordable Care Act are going to increase hospital prices as they seek to cover the costs of people showing up to the ER with no health insurance. Hospitals with emergency departments are required to treat patients without insurance with emergencies. Premiums will increase as health insurance companies seek to cover the higher hospital prices. Hospitals that see a larger number of Medicaid patients, particularly inner city and rural hospitals, may well close because they can’t make it financially.
So, how are Republicans going to reduce waste and fraud❓ They are going to waste people's time and fraudulently cheat people out of benefits they qualify for by saddling them with onerous paperwork and red tape. Many low-income workers work odd hours, making it difficult to complete the requirements.

Both Arkansas and Georgia have tried or currently have work requirements for Medicaid. Both had serious issues with their websites not functioning correctly and people unable to submit their paperwork, resulting in the denial of benefits. The websites are closed at night and clients have difficulty getting an actual person to resolve issues. Georgia has spent more than $91 million in state and federal funds launching, building and operating its eligibility reporting system that still has major glitches two years on. In the meantime, qualified recipients go without the health insurance they need and deserve.

All people have a fundamental right to healthcare, and, as a society, it benefits us to have people who are healthy in terms of people’s ability to work, the reduction of spreading illness, and curbing mental health crises. Republican attacks on the U.S. health system are shortsighted, expensive and dangerous for us all.

From Beverley Rannow in Holland, a city in Michigan