longer.blue

Dear Senator Durbin, As House Republicans try to thread the needle on passing their spending bill without cuts to Medicaid, one provision has become more and more likely to make it into the final version of the bill: Medicaid work requirements. Trump and professed GOP “moderates” like Rep. Don Bacon have endorsed these measures, insisting they aren’t technically “cuts” at all. The Medicaid program is a lifeline for millions of Americans who would otherwise be unable to access the health care they need. Gutting it to fund tax breaks for billionaires like Elon Musk is not just bad policy, it’s a betrayal of working people and families across the country. Medicaid isn’t some abstract government expense. One in five Americans relies on it. These aren’t strangers, they’re our parents, our kids, our coworkers, our neighbors. They’re the people who bag our groceries, care for our loved ones, and help keep our communities running. The narrative that people on Medicaid are somehow lazy or undeserving is a harmful myth. The truth is, the vast majority of Medicaid recipients are either working, physically unable to work, or caring for someone who needs them. Imposing work requirements won’t solve any real problem, it’s a solution in search of a crisis. What it will do is strip health care away from people who qualify for it but can’t navigate the confusing and punishing bureaucracy these rules create. We’ve already seen how this plays out. States that have tried work requirements didn’t see employment go up, but they did see thousands of eligible people lose coverage. Workers with multiple part-time jobs, students trying to build a better future, caregivers, and people with disabilities were all caught in a web of red tape. Not because they didn’t qualify, but because they couldn’t keep up with the paperwork or missed a deadline. Let’s be clear: work requirements aren’t about encouraging work. They’re about cutting costs on the backs of the poor to make room for tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy. It’s wrong. And it’s not who we are. We must not allow health care for ordinary Americans to be sacrificed so that billionaires can enjoy even larger tax cuts. Medicaid exists to protect the most vulnerable among us, and it’s our job to protect it in turn. Thank you for your time and your commitment to doing what’s right. David Piekarczyk Sleepy hollow, Illinois