- Parents across mid-Michigan are worried about proposed Medicaid cuts, fearing it could limit access to essential health services for their children.
- Local mothers, including Arianna Parker and Aisha Wells with Mothering Justice, are speaking out about how crucial Medicaid is for their families' well-being.
- The advocacy group Mothering Justice is pushing back, calling Medicaid a basic need and emphasizing the importance of policy change through their “Mamas Agenda.”
- While no final decisions have been made, a proposed federal budget includes potential Medicaid cuts, prompting families and advocates to continue fighting to protect the program.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
With possible cuts to Medicaid, some parents across mid-Michigan are fearful of what that could mean for health services for their children. I’m your Lansing neighborhood reporter Asya Lawrence, here with a local group of mothers who are advocating for Medicaid to remain unchanged.
Arianna Parker is the mother of 1-and 4-year-old daughters.
"We find ourselves saying, 'It’s getting tight,' month after month after month." said Arianna Parker.
Parker says she and her husband have had to make many cuts to their budget — but one thing they never cut corners on is their children’s health care.
"Three months, nine months — you’re going into the doctor at least six times a year." Parker said.
And she says health insurance is critical for her family to be able to afford those visits.
Aisha Wells knows there are many other parents in our neighborhoods who can relate — which is why she joined the board of directors at the Mothering Justice organization.
"We need to teach mamas and empower mamas to advocate for themselves, and we do that through policy change — through our 'Mamas Agenda.'" Wells said.
Part of that agenda includes advocating for what they say are basic needs — including Medicaid, the public health insurance program for Americans with low or no income, or who are living with a disability.
"I have a disabled son. He's 18 now, and I know what it feels like to not have Medicaid for a little while." Aisha Wells said.
From prescriptions to surgery to physical therapy, Wells told me what Medicaid has meant for her son.
But with recent talks of Republican budget plans and the possibility of Medicaid cuts... some parents are growing increasingly concerned.
A budget outline was recently passed by the U.S. House, and a nonpartisan analysis of the budget cuts said they’re only possible if reductions to Medicaid are included.
President Trump said in February that he would not touch Medicaid.
But another topic coming out of Washington is whether more money should be given to families — in the form of a possible $5,000 "baby bonus" from the government.
"Do you think that the $5,000 could be adequate, or is it not enough?" I asked Aisha.
"Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is what that is. You’re saying it’s okay to give people a mere $5,000 to take care of their families — but in the same breath, you’re raising the cost of everything around them. People can’t even survive." she responded.
Right now, no final decisions have been made regarding changes to Medicaid — and the Mothering Justice organization plans to keep fighting to ensure it stays that way.
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