JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. — Big cuts and changes could be coming to Medicaid. U.S. House Republicans proposed Medicaid cuts and shifts in eligibility requirements in a draft agenda bill Sunday night.
According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, the health care portion of the bill would cut spending by $715 billion and would impact at least 8.6 million people over the next ten years.
Every day with Laura Robeson's son, Danny, in Prairie Village, Kansas, is a gift. But every day also comes with its challenges.
“Danny is literally everything we could have hoped for in a child,” Laura Robeson said. “Danny is 13 years old. He's in the seventh grade, and Danny is disabled.”
Danny has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cortical vision impairment. He uses a wheelchair and has a feeding tube.
“What makes that possible is Medicaid,” Laura Robeson said.
Essential equipment for Danny's disabilities are all over the Robeson house and are funded by Medicaid. Laura said it’s what allows Danny to live and get his care at home with them.
“There is no sugar coating," Robeson said. "This is not a Republican issue. It's not a Democratic issue. This is a moral issue.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) published an op-ed in the New York Times Monday, writing that if Congress cuts Medicaid, “Missouri workers and their children will lose their health care. And hospitals will close. It’s that simple.” He also said that this blame and responsibility falls on Democrats and Republicans.
“When you cut Medicaid, you cut people, and their health care is terminated,” April Holman, Executive Director of Alliance For A Healthy Kansas, said.
“Those parents are thinking about a time when maybe they're not around to help their child, and what will that mean for them if some of these services are cut and scaled back?”
Holman and her non-profit are traveling around Kansas to advocate for families like the Robeson's. Laura knows she can’t change the struggles her son faces every day. But she’ll fight to make everyday count toward his future.
“The only way we can create a future that we want for Danny is through Medicaid,” Laura said.
According to NBC News, the legislation could be amended in committee and would need to win over nearly every Republican on the floor of the House to become law. Then it would go to the Senate.
