Local and state health care providers, food banks, and advocacy organizations are calling on Senators Capito and Justice to protect vital care and services for Mountaineers ahead of a pending budget vote in the Senate.
The House of Representatives advanced its budget bill last month, with support from both West Virginia’s representatives Riley Moore and Carol Miller, that includes drastic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Medicaid is critical for West Virginians’ health and well-being, and $700 billion in cuts would be catastrophic for West Virginians who rely on the program, which includes 49,000 seniors, 196,000 children, and 86,000 people with disabilities.
In addition to Medicaid cuts, the bill also raises premiums and out-of-pocket costs for over 50,000 West Virginians who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The budget bill also includes a 30 percent cut to SNAP, the state’s most important anti-hunger program, by shifting significant costs for the program to our strained state budget; enacting ineffective and bureaucratic paperwork requirements; and lowering benefits over time by freezing the Thrifty Food Plan which helps benefit amounts keep pace with rising costs of a healthy diet. Over time it is projected that 2 million children will lose access to food if these proposals are enacted.
“The combination of cuts to Medicaid and price hikes in premiums and out-of-pocket costs will force thousands of West Virginia families to lose their coverage altogether,” said Lida Shepherd, AFSC’s Program Director of Economic Justice, South US Region. “The press conference will underscore how cuts to these popular programs would impact health care and food access for people around the state, devastate hospitals and community health centers, and adversely impact West Virginia’s budget and workforce.”
WHO: Amber Crist, Cabin Creek Health Systems
Dural Miller, Keep Your Faith Corporation
Mariah Plante, Medicaid storyteller
Sherri McKinney, SEIU
Ellen Allen, WVAHC ePTC storyteller
WHAT: Press conference to spread awareness on how the proposed federal cuts to Medicaid willhurt hospitals, community health centers, and people’s ability to access health care and put food on the table. (Facebook event link here)
WHERE: Cabin Creek Health Systems West Side Clinic
303 Ohio Ave
Charleston, WV 25302
Available to stream via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WVAHC
WHEN: Tuesday, June 17th at 11:00 - 11:30am
Press conference is sponsored by American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Friends Service Committee, Cabin Creek Health Systems, Catholic Charities-WV, Facing Hunger, Keep Your Faith Corporation, Mom’s Rising, Protect Our Care WV, WV Cancer Society, WV Citizen Action Group, West Virginians for Affordable Health Care, WV Center on Budget and Policy, WV Food and Farm Coalition, and WV Rural Health Association
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.