Looking up at the US Capitol Dome with mural in center
Advocacy, Health, Political

Here we go again

justins989

I posted this On the Issue of Disability Rights: Healthcare (JustinSmithWrites.com) in 2017 when I was getting my first crash course at being a disability rights activist when I was 18 years old. President Trump and Republicans threatened to make drastic cuts and changes to Medicaid.

Well, here we go again. Only this time it feels like I’m in a whole different kind of horror movie that’s not going to end well for people with disabilities.

What do this time’s cuts in Medicaid mean for me? With the Republican House budget’s proposed Medicaid cuts of $880 BILLION, it’s not going to be good. My US Representative Betty McCollum responded to my mom’s question about her concerns for services I depend on to live my life – Medicaid, SSI, SNAP benefits, and a housing voucher. She said we all should be frightened because Medicaid, SSI, SNAP and housing services are all targets for massive Republican cuts. If any of these services fall apart, I don’t know what happens to me. I don’t get to live the life that I have worked so hard to pull together.

These cuts are cruel. These cuts are horrific. These cuts are going to hurt very real people with disabilities, my grandparents, and so many others. I bet you know them. Maybe they are your family, your friends, and your neighbors. Maybe you know caregivers for people like me, or in your community’s nursing homes or hospitals whose jobs depend on Medicaid funding.

Now is not the time to sit back and wait to see what happens – make your voice heard.

Contact your representative and senator. Go to a town hall. Go to a rally. Write letters to your newspapers. Do something because the needs don’t go away just because the funding does.

Learn more about Medicaid (this has all kinds of cool graphs and charts and shows the impact of Medicaid on all of our communities):  10 Things to Know About Medicaid (kff.org)

Now, back to Premier League – go Liverpool!

Here are some images of how Medicaid helps me live my life – from medical care, to caregivers, to medical equipment.

My mom sitting on a couch, me in my wheelchair with communication device, and Representative Betty McCollum sitting in a chair in Representative McCollum's office, framed art, pictures and plaques on table
Rifton shower chair in roll-in accessible shower
Justin, around 8 years old in gait trainer looking at book on book holder
Justin in wheelchair, dad holding Justin's foot
Justin laying in hospital bed, brother sitting in chair with game controller
Medtronic DBS programmer and charger device
Man with arm around Justin, We belong in the community sign hanging on front of Justin's wheelchair
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