You Belong Here

I want to talk heart-to-heart about something that keeps me up at night. When I hear politicians casually discussing cutting Medicaid, I don’t just see budget numbers—I see faces. The mothers I support as a doula who primarily supports Medicaid patients. The face of my former neighbor who needed home care after his bout with cancer. The young mom at my kid’s school who works three jobs and still can’t get employer insurance. These are the real stakes when we talk about “reforming” Medicaid. It’s not abstract. It’s deeply personal for millions of families across America.

Medicaid Is About People We Love

Think for a moment about who Medicaid actually helps in your community:

• The grandmother who worked her whole life but whose savings couldn’t possibly cover years of nursing home care

• The child with special needs whose parents would be financially devastated without support

• The young adult working retail while putting themselves through college

• The family that did everything “right” but still got hit with a medical crisis they couldn’t afford

One in five of us—our friends, family members, and neighbors—rely on Medicaid. Nearly half of all babies born in America start life with Medicaid coverage. This isn’t someone else’s program. It belongs to all of us.

The False Economy of Heartlessness

I’ve never understood why we think it saves money to let people suffer. When someone loses their healthcare coverage, they don’t just accept their fate and fade away. They struggle. They ration medication. They skip preventive care. And eventually, their manageable conditions become emergency situations. I remember talking with an ER nurse who told me about a young man who couldn’t afford insulin. By the time he arrived at her hospital, he was in diabetic ketoacidosis—fighting for his life.

The ICU care cost more in three days than a year’s worth of properly managed diabetes care would have. This isn’t just bad policy. It’s heartbreaking. And it happens every single day. The communities that would be hit hardest by Medicaid cuts are already struggling with healthcare access.

During COVID, we saw how unequal our health system truly is. Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities suffered devastating losses. Rural hospitals have been closing at alarming rates, leaving entire counties without emergency care. For many of these communities, Medicaid is the difference between having healthcare and having none at all. When we talk about cutting Medicaid, we need to be honest about whose lives we’re deciding matter less. Because that’s the real choice we’re making. Do we want to be a country where your zip code, your job, or your bank account determines whether you can see a doctor when you’re sick? I don’t think that’s who we want to be.

The Dignity of Work—And Healthcare

I get frustrated when I hear people suggest that Medicaid recipients just need to “get a job.” The truth is, most adults on Medicaid who can work ARE working—often in the essential jobs that keep our society running. They’re caring for our elderly parents in nursing homes. They’re stocking grocery shelves. They’re cleaning hospital rooms. Many work multiple jobs that don’t offer benefits. They’re not asking for handouts—they’re asking for the dignity of being able to see a doctor when they’re sick while they keep our economy moving. And for those who cannot work due to disability, age, or caregiving responsibilities? Do we really want to be a society that says, “Too bad”?

Communities Need Hospitals, Hospitals Need Medicaid

When a rural hospital closes, it’s not just healthcare access that disappears. Jobs vanish. The local economy suffers. Young families move away. The community begins a downward spiral that can last generations. We’ve seen this happen in small towns across America. When Medicaid funding gets cut, these vulnerable hospitals—often the largest employers in their counties—can’t survive. Medicaid isn’t just a healthcare program. It’s an economic lifeline for communities that are already struggling to hold on.

A Better Way Forward

I believe we all want similar things: communities where people can get care when they’re sick, where no one faces financial ruin because of a health crisis, where children have the chance to grow up healthy regardless of their parents’ income. Medicaid helps make those values real. It’s not perfect—no program is. But the solution isn’t to pull the rug out from under millions of vulnerable Americans. It’s to strengthen the program, make it more efficient, and ensure it fulfills its promise of care for those who need it most.

What Would You Do?

I want to ask you to imagine something difficult. Think about someone you love—a parent, a child, a friend. Imagine they lost their job tomorrow and with it their health insurance. Imagine they have a chronic condition that requires ongoing care. Now imagine they couldn’t get Medicaid. What would you tell them? Where would you suggest they go for care? How would you help them afford their medication? This isn’t hypothetical for millions of American families. It’s their daily reality.

Standing Together

If you believe, as I do, that we’re all connected—that my neighbor’s well-being affects mine—then protecting Medicaid isn’t just about helping “others.” It’s about creating the kind of society we all want to live in.

Here’s what you can do:

• Share your own stories about how Medicaid has helped your family or community

• Talk to your representatives about the real impact Medicaid has in your area

• Vote for candidates who understand that healthcare is a human need, not a luxury

• Support organizations fighting to protect and expand healthcare access

I truly believe that most Americans, regardless of political party, don’t want to see their neighbors suffering without healthcare. When we cut through the politics and remember the human beings behind the policy debates, the path forward becomes clearer. We take care of each other. That’s what community means. And that’s why Medicaid matters.

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