Michigan families visited Washington on Wednesday for family advocacy day. They lobbied members of Congress to prevent cuts to Medicaid.
Dr. Jennifer Arnold is a neonatologist and the Director of the Pediatric Simulation Center in Texas. She said children with complex medical conditions like cancer would feel the cuts to Medicaid the most.
“From a Michigan perspective 54.9% of the folks that are covered by Medicaid are actually children not elderly adults or other adults with medical needs. So if you think about that the fact that so many kids would be affected by this, it’s huge”.
If federal cuts are made to Medicaid, Arnold said Michigan would lose $1.87 in federal matching funds for every $1.00 of state money.
“Within the legislation there are the threats to cut over $43 billion that will affect funding for children's healthcare over the next ten years. That's with the better care reconciliation act. So, that act that’s currently being evaluated in the senate is a bad bill for children's healthcare”.
Arnold said ensuring the health of youth should be a priority for the nation.
