South Dakotans: Republicans are after Medicare and Medicaid and we must stand up to defend it
Make no mistake about it. The Republicans can’t meet their own budget goals without substantial cuts in Medicaid.
In addition, Republicans in both houses of Congress are also increasingly hinting that cuts to Social Security and Medicare are also on the table. These billions are characterized as “savings” and “waste,” but this chainsaw approach would slash vital funding for people who desperately need it.
These folks are not loafers and slackers. These are not, in Elon Musk’s view, “parasites.” They are friends, relatives and neighbors who are the most vulnerable members of our communities. Ironically, these reductions in care will target many of the very people who voted for and believe Donald Trump when he says he’s got their back.
Medicaid commonly pays for medical equipment, physical and mental health services and medical transportation for students and adults. In South Dakota, for example, 55% of nursing home residents need Medicaid to pay for their care. Over half of our 97 nursing homes and care facilities need Medicaid to keep the doors open. Medicaid also services children, those with disabilities, and those with debilitating mental health issues.
Is there fraud and waste in Medicaid? Yes. However, $880 billion goes far beyond the surgical skills necessary to find and excise it. These cuts affect real people, not statistics. Not deadbeats to be callously cut loose by an uncaring Republican administration. These cuts will cause real pain.
In fiscal year 2023, South Dakota Medicaid funding amounted to $1.27 billion. These are funds that the state needs to care for its most vulnerable, not handouts to lazy undesirables.
If you are concerned about this administration’s onslaught against people who can’t defend themselves, call your congressional team: Sen. John Thune (605 334 9596), Sen. Mike Rounds (605 336 0486), and Rep. Dusty Johnson (605 275 2868).
Don’t let them brush you off. Don’t let them send you sterile, generic replies. Your voice is important, and they need to hear. Tell them you want them to save Medicaid.
If they fail to protect these services, or quietly sit by and do nothing while the cuts are being implemented, then they are guilty of, at the very least, complicity and need to be held accountable at election time.
Doug Allen is a retired English teacher and a lover of books and film. He is happily married and has lived in Sioux Falls for 25 years.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
