Written by Tanya Terry, with photos by Tanya Terry
On July 10, at a press conference held at the new GHS location on Bristol Road, in Flint, Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet pointed that in addition to providing health care for a quarter of a million people, Medicaid also helps fund hospitals.
“Unfortunately, we are here to talk about the legislation that was passed in Washington and was signed by the president,” she continued. “Specifically, we’re here to talk about the over trillion dollars in cuts to Medicaid and the extraordinary damage it will do to families in our communities.
“Not only are we seeing Medicaid cut through this bill, but through the Affordable Care Act, we will see premiums rise, like hundreds of dollars every year for people who are not on Medicaid,” McDonald Rivet added.
“Additionally, we are worrying about our hospitals, our long-term care facilities and their ability to keep going. So, there’s a reality to these cuts. They’re not numbers on a balance sheet. These are people in our community-our parents, our children, our siblings-that rely on Medicaid to be able to access their doctor, to be able to get healthcare period. A trillion dollar cut is going to be devastating in our district…”
GHS CEO Dan Russell said GHS has always had threats to it funding, but he stated he has never seen anything like the recently signed bill.
GHS serves low-income families requiring access to healthcare service and individuals facing barriers to health due to socioeconomic factors. This includes patients with chronic conditions needing ongoing management. They also provide behavioral health and substance abuse treatment.
GHS Flint receives a significant portion of its funding from Medicaid. Medicaid funding supports various healthcare services provided by GHS Flint. The exact percentage of funding from Medicaid can vary annually.
“We’re not going to let them win,” stated Russell.
Bobby Mukkamala, M.D. spoke as president of the American Medical Association (AMA). He said 60% of his patients use Medicaid, including cancer patients.
Mukkamala, who has practiced medicine for 25 years, said Flint is his home.
“This bill makes it hard to manage chronic disease instead of it becoming something acute,” Mukkamala stated.
Rachel Chapin, an RN at McLaren Flint, said many of her patients are seniors or children with chronic health conditions.
In addition, Chapin said speaking out about what many are calling the “Big, Ugly Bill” was “personal.” She talked about Medicaid helping her, as a single parent, and her daughter, at an earlier stage in her life.
“Without Medicaid I wouldn’t be a nurse, ” she stated. “I relied on Medicaid.”
Flint resident Allison Harris attended the press conference with her 18 year old daughter, Kendall Williams. Williams was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Although Harris has health insurance through her job, she said Medicaid helps supplement that health insurance so her daughter can continue receiving the care she needs.
“I am living in fear every day,” Harris said “We really don’t know what will happen. I am just disgusted that cuts would be made to health care, of all places.”
McDonald Rivet said” The math doesn’t add up. There is no data that shows you can get to a trillion dollars with waste fraud and abuse, given the study after study after study in Medicaid. That is the idea that these cuts are only likely to affect people who are committing fraud or in the country illegally.
Russell acknowledged some fraudsters would be caught by new policies if they are enacted.
He added: “But the overwhelmingly majority of the people that are going to be cut are the people who genuinely need Medicaid.”
McDonald Rivet suggested organizing at the community level and for concerned citizens to continue to make their voices heard.
“…This is a ten-year implementation,” she said “So, it means that while we may start down this road, we have the ability to stop it.”
