KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
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Families with the advocacy group Little Lobbyists planned a town hall Tuesday on proposed Medicaid cuts in President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill."
Doors opened at 5:30 p.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 7740 Lackman Road, in Lenexa.
House Republicans passed the spending bill. Now, the bill is in the Senate's hands.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates a nearly $800 billion reduction in federal Medicaid spending over the next 10 years if the bill is passed.
Most Republicans support the bill, saying it aims to cut down on fraud, waste and abuse within Medicaid.
But Ryan Jolly, a mom of four children with brain injuries, is fighting to protect the program she said is essential for her family's healthcare needs.
"What we're trying to do is show our families are just like your families," said Jolly, who is also an ambassador with Little Lobbyists.
Jolly said anyone could suddenly find themselves dependent on Medicaid services.
"Anybody is one hard hit on the football field away from needing these services," she said. "You or I, as adults, are one tragic car accident away from needing the kind of care that only Medicaid provides. The idea that there are going to be no cuts to Medicaid, I think, is a pie in the sky, a wish and a dream."
According to healthcare nonprofit KFF, the Medicaid cuts would mean approximately 157,000 Missourians and 30,000 Kansans would no longer be enrolled in Medicaid by 2034.
Diana Jolly, one of Ryan's children who has a brain injury, shared her perspective on the importance of the program to their family.
"Medicaid, at least in our family, plays a big role," Diana said. "Most of the things we have access to is because of Medicaid."
She expressed concerns about what cuts could mean for her siblings, who also rely on the program.
"I'd be heartbroken if Medicaid was cut and something happened to my little siblings," Diana said.
For the Jolly family, the fight is deeply personal.
"Medicaid affects every aspect of my life," Ryan Jolly said. "In a time of high partisan politics, where everybody's got a side to choose, this is truly a nonpartisan event."
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