“This is NOT a drill — if you haven’t activated your networks yet, please do so IMMEDIATELY! This includes your work networks, coalition partners, parent networks, community orgs, health care providers, health centers, hospitals and everyone who depends on Medicaid. Rope in your personal networks — family, friends, etc. via social media. We need LOTS of calls to Congress ASAP!!!!!” – the words of on of our partners.
As you know, the House Budget Committee has approved a budget resolution that includes a minimum of $880 Billion in cuts to Medicaid. The House is on recess this week but we expect that the budget resolution will be voted on next week. While Trump said Medicaid wouldn’t be cut, today he endorsed the House’s budget resolution bill. So we need to make a concerted effort NOW to stop the House from passing this resolution. Once the House & Senate agree on a joint budget resolution, the relevant committees must come up with the cuts. Members will be under a lot of pressure to vote for the budget resolution to keep the process moving. But if the resolution includes $880 Billion in cuts, it will be much more difficult to stop farther down the line.
Action steps for constituents:
- Use this call-in line to reach your member of Congress and say you oppose all Medicaid cuts: 866-426-2631. (Thank you to SEIU for providing the call-in number; it will remain open for the fight ahead!) See Community Catalyst Medicaid Defense Advocacy Toolkit for, call scripts, state fact sheet templates, unbranded sample social media posts, etc.).
- Ask for a meeting or attend a Town Hall or other event while your Representative is in your district this week to register your concerns.
- Email your Member of Congress with PIH’s action tool.
RESOURCES:
Protect Medicaid
- Call the Hands Off Medicaid call-in number 866-426-2631 to call your Representative. For talking points and other tools, see here.
- PIH blog provides background on the threats to Medicaid and why Medicaid is so critical to our communities
- PIH’s action tool allows constituents to email their members of Congress.
- Families USA has an email action tool and a helpful Medicaid Matters factsheet
- News: House GOP Budget Envisions Tax Cut Financed With Spending Cuts, Higher Deficits | HuffPost Latest News
- Medicaid Defense Resource List (prepared by CBPP, Community Catalyst, NheLP, and Families USA)
- Legal challenges: Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
- (See slides linked above for more on the impact of threats to Medicaid on CHWs)
- Join NHeLP for a webinar on Thursday, February 20th from 2-3pm ET/11am-12pm PT on “why work requirements don’t work, should not be added to Medicaid, and what has been problematic about past legislative and administrative work requirement proposals.” Sign up here.