Hundreds rally in South Bay against Trump's cuts to Medicaid
SAN JOSE, Calif. - At the Santa Clara County building on Thursday, dozens of politicians, health care providers, and activists joined voices as part of a battle calling for the protection of Medicaid funding.
Why you should care
"It feels very dystopian right now," said Nicole Kim, executive director of the College of Adaptive Arts, who is also the mother of a 32-year-old son with Down syndrome.
What we know
The Trump administration's latest budget proposal calls for $1.5 trillion in cuts over the next decade. But many in Washington and around the Bay Area believe such cuts would do more societal harm than good, especially in health care.
"They should spend their time and energy working on how to improve the quality and lower the cost of care," said Dr. Richard Scheffler, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health.
Opponents said deep budget slashing will inevitably impact Medicaid — the federal and state-funded program providing free or low-cost health care coverage to low-income people and families.
"They voted to cut $880 billion from programs overseen by the Energy and Commerce (departments), 93% of which are Medicaid or health care," said Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif. Added Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., "We know from the analysis that we have done, that hospitals across the United States will actually close their doors, close their emergency rooms if these cuts go through."
Advocates said it's not just hospitals that will feel the impact. Without fully funded Medicaid, programs helping children and adults live full lives or even survive could disappear.
Terry Downing organized the rally and has a disabled daughter who depends on 10 Medicaid-funded programs.
"They're all surrounding my daughter to make sure her life is secure and safe. And they're not being paid enough as it is. And so any slight cut is going to dramatically affect her life," she said.
The same is true for Kim, whose son Said needs assistance to live on his own.
"Every parent wants their kid to move out and live a life. And that's what Medicaid enables him living independently," said Kim.
Rally attendees said the only way to prevent a possible catastrophe is for those impacted and those on the periphery to speak up, push back, and save Medicaid from funding cuts.
"Medicaid was part of the program that saved my life. I would not be here today had it not been for Medicaid. I'd either be in prison, or I'd be dead," said Mia Jaurigue of Pathway Society. She said her difficult past of drug addiction and incarceration would have been her future without assistance programs fully or partially funded by Medicaid. She has since turned her life around, graduated from San Jose State University, and works at Valley Medical Center.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 1 representative Susan Ellenberg warned Medicaid cuts could put such success stories in danger if the $3 billion the county receives annually from the federal government is reduced, forcing elected leaders to make up the difference by diverting money from other programs.
Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on the Instagram platform, @jessegontv and on Facebook, @JesseKTVU.
The Source
Interviews with attendees of the 'Save Medicaid' rally
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
North Korea's Frigate That Partially Sunk Appears In Dry Dock With Mangled Superstructure
The North Korean Choi-Hyun class frigate that rolled over on its side during a botched launch ceremony attended by Kim Jong Un back on May 21st is now in a dry dock, and new satellite images give us a better view of the extent of the topside damage. The images come to us from our friends at Maxar. They show the still unnamed frigate, the second in its class, in a dry dock facility in Rajin, which sits near the border with Russia in northeastern North Korea. The ship made the roughly 50-mile voyage under tow from its birthplace in Chongjin. The vessel was successfully refloated and turned upright around June 3rd, after what was likely a very high-pressure frenzy of a recovery effort. 'Detailed underwater and internal inspection of the warship confirmed that, unlike the initial announcement, there were no holes made at the warship's bottom, the hull starboard was scratched, and a certain amount of seawater flowed into the stern section through the rescue channel,' per a report from KCNA on May 23. 'The extent of damage to the warship is not serious, and the result of the flooding process immediately after the accident is only information necessary to take practical rehabilitation measures. The above-said data have no connection with the cause of the accident and the identification of its responsibility… Experts estimated that it will take two or three days to keep the balance of the warship by pumping up the seawater from the flooded chamber and making the bow leave the slipway, and 10-odd days to restore the warship's side,' KCNA also said in its May 23 report. Somewhat stunningly, they met that 10-day goal. But Kim's other deadline was to restore the ship to its previous state by the end of June, which is pretty much impossible. Still, even the appearance that this is the case would be a win for the extremely image-conscious regime. The ship clearly has structural damage to its superstructure, with mangled metal and bent lines appearing in the satellite images. Some areas of the ship were flooded with seawater, which would have had a major impact on any machinery and electronics in those areas. All this will take time to remediate, and we still don't know the condition of the ship's hull, although it did make the 50-mile voyage to its current resting spot. This is a large and complex vessel for North Korea to repair, and the facilities at Rajin are not extensive. It is still possible that the North Koreans are getting help from China or Russia, something we had initially speculated. The latter of the two, in particular, is working extensively with Pyongyang in terms of military assistance in return for North Korea's support of its invasion of Ukraine. The location of the ship near the Russian border in an economic zone dominated by cross-border trade also points to the possibility that Moscow is lending a hand. Whatever the case, North Korea seems set on 'righting the ship' after what was an incredibly embarrassing moment on the international stage — one that was impossible to conceal due to satellite imagery. Contact the author: Tyler@
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
700 Rhode Islanders to lose Medicaid coverage; state blames old mistake
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — While Democrats are fighting proposed Medicaid cuts at the federal level, Rhode Islanders are facing their own cuts on the state level due to a change in the program's income limit. 'I think the only reason that a state would be motivated to do that is to save money,' said Sam Salganik, executive director of RIPIN, a nonprofit that helps people navigate the health care system. Salganik said the state used to have an income limit of about $19 an hour for a single parent of two. But he said the state is now lowering that to roughly $18.30. REPORT: 366K+ Rhode Islanders would be impacted by proposed Medicaid cuts A spokesperson for the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) said 700 parents and caretakers will lose Medicaid coverage because of the new income limit, which was put in place due to a mistake made years ago. According to the state agency, it will take effect for new patients beginning this month. 'If [the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)] has not approved the state to spend federal Medicaid money for a certain group at a certain income level, the state is not allowed to do so,' spokesperson Kerri White wrote. But Salganik said the federal income limit is the floor, not the ceiling. 'States always have the flexibility to have higher income limits than the minimums that were established by the Affordable Care Act, as long as it's part of the approved state Medicaid plan,' he explained. 'And this has been part of the approved state Medicaid plan for many, many years.' Salganik is also concerned this is being done through agency regulations rather than the legislative budget process. 'This is an example of why administrative departments need to do the fundamental things right the first time,' House Speaker Joe Shekarchi wrote in a statement to 12 News. 'Errors like these have real consequences.' MORE: Suspected Medicaid fraud in RI sparks criminal probe, proposed changes EOHHS said affected Medicaid recipients will be sent a letter, but they'll be able to keep their benefits until their annual renewal, or until a quarterly post-eligibility verification process. White said the change will save $1.9 million in state funds and $4.5 million when federal money is included. And while EOHHS said people will be able to buy coverage through HealthSource RI, Salgank said that will still cost low-income parents hundreds of dollars each year, if not more. 'It's just one more cost that is really difficult for them to afford,' he said. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
California scientists sound alarm on role of pesticides in raising resistance to antifungal drugs
The proliferation of new fungicides in the U.S. agricultural sector may be raising resistance to critical antifungal medications in humans and animals, infectious disease experts are warning. Although antifungal pesticides have become vital to combatting the spread of crop disease, the ongoing development of new such fungicides may be leaving people more vulnerable to severe infections, according to new commentary published in the New England Journal of Medicine. 'Antimicrobial resistant pathogens are a constant reminder for us to use agents judiciously,' lead author George Thompson, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Davis, said in a statement. 'We have learned that the widespread use of antibiotics for livestock resulted in the rapid development of resistance to antibacterials,' Thompson continued. 'We have similar concerns regarding the use of antifungals in the environment.' In the past few decades, fungi that cause severe infections in humans — such as the difficult-to-treat Candida auris — have undergone a rapid increase, the scientists noted. Yet because there are relatively few antifungals available to eradicate such microbes from the body, Thompson stressed that 'preventing resistance is of paramount importance.' In the U.S. today, the researchers found that there are about 75,000 hospitalizations and 9 million outpatient visits linked to fungal diseases every year, with direct annual costs amount to $6.7 billion to $7.5 billion. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that fungi cause between 10 percent to 20 percent of crop loss, at a cost of $100 billion to $200 billion annually, according to the report. However, scientists have now become increasingly aware that antifungal pesticides and antifungal drugs share some of the same mechanisms. The authors therefore warned that the promulgation of these chemicals 'may select for resistant fungi in the environment, which can then endanger human health.' The development of antifungal medications, meanwhile, is a difficult task due to the metabolic similarities shared by human and fungal cells, as well as the surge in antifungal resistance, the authors explained. Tackling this problem, they contended, requires what's known as a 'One Health' approach — a state that recognizes how human, animal and environmental health are all related. As scientists research future solutions, having representatives from each of these sectors in the room will be increasingly critical, the commentary argued. Shared decision-making among national and global regulators, the researchers added, would both be cost-effective and would help avoid the 'riskier prospects of the rapid spread of resistant pathogens.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
