Don't take away what keeps moms like me alive by slashing Medicaid funding

Yahoo

23-05-2025

Medicaid sign at U.S. Senate Democrats' press conference on Feb. 19, 2025. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
Mother's Day may have just passed, but what hasn't passed is the growing threat facing mothers like me across the country. While many of us were being celebrated with cards and flowers, lawmakers in Washington were advancing a budget that would devastate the programs that help us survive.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently issued a chilling report: Republican leaders are pushing a federal budget proposal to slash $880 billion from health care, particularly Medicaid, to fund another round of tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. That is not a gift to mothers. That is a gut punch.
As a working mom in Kentucky raising two beautiful daughters, Medicaid has been the difference between surviving and slipping through the cracks. It allows me to access regular checkups, medications, dental appointments, and essential care not just for me, but also for my children. I work two jobs. Neither offers health insurance nor pays a living wage. Without Medicaid, we would have no safety net, no way to stay healthy, and no protection when things go wrong.
I cannot imagine what I would do without Medicaid or SNAP benefits. These supports are not handouts. They are how I keep my family going in a system that too often fails to value mothers like me.
Let's be clear. The majority in Congress is proposing to roll back the Medicaid expansion that has been a lifeline for millions. Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), only seniors, people with disabilities, children and pregnant women qualified for Medicaid. Low-income working people were left out. The ACA changed that. In Kentucky, expanding Medicaid in 2014 drastically reduced the number of uninsured people, saved rural hospitals from closing, and ensured access to mental health and addiction services during public health emergencies.
Most of those who gained coverage through the expansion were women, especially mothers. After giving birth, Medicaid became even more vital when postpartum coverage was extended, giving new mothers a full year of health care. It also supports preventive care and chronic disease treatment for women of childbearing age, helping create better outcomes for mothers and children.
Ten states still refuse to expand Medicaid, leaving millions uninsured. And instead of encouraging progress, Congress is proposing to strip health care from those of us who need it most.
Despite working two jobs, I still can't consistently afford groceries without Medicaid and SNAP. Yet Congress is rewarding billionaires with tax cuts while targeting mothers like me for cuts. That's not justice. That's betrayal.
Medicaid is the largest source of federal funding in every state. In Kentucky, over 1.5 million people rely on it. Slashing this lifeline would harm families and damage schools, hospitals, clinics and emergency services that depend on Medicaid dollars. Just over the mountains in West Virginia, 516,500 people rely on Medicaid. This includes 49,000 seniors, 196,000 children, and 86,000 people with disabilities. Across Appalachia, one thing is clear: our families depend on these programs for survival.
This is not what the American people voted for. Medicaid has broad support from Democrats, Republicans and independents alike. Most of us know someone who relies on it, whether it's a mother, a grandparent, a child or a neighbor.
We must protect the programs that value our lives if we value mothers. This isn't just about policy. It's about dignity. It's about survival.
If Congress can afford to give billionaires tax breaks, then it can afford to provide health care to the millions of moms, kids, grandparents and people with disabilities who need it.
Our representatives must protect Medicaid, mothers, and the people who hold this country together daily. Because taking health care away from moms doesn't save money, it breaks families.