Medicaid Matters Today and Every Day

With $100 billion in healthcare funding and one million jobs hanging in the balance during the current debt ceiling debate, Dr. L. Toni Lewis, SEIU Healthcare Chair, joined with labor, faith, and seniors advocates today to call on members of Congress to protect the Medicaid and Medicare services that are a lifeline for seniors, people with disabilities and children.

Did you know. . . More than one out of every four Americans was uninsured prior to the creation of Medicaid in 1965. Medicaid and Medicare passed the U.S. House of Representatives (307-116) and the U.S. Senate (70-24). Medicaid was created to provide essential, comprehensive healthcare services to Americans who had no other means of affording the healthcare they needed.

30 Ways Medicaid Matters to Americans

1. More than 1 out of every 7 Americans receives healthcare through Medicaid.

2. Medicaid provides care at a much lower per-person cost than private health insurance.

3. Americans covered by Medicaid report they are in better health and have better well-being than Americans who are uninsured.

4. Americans covered by Medicaid are less likely to have unpaid medical bills and mounting medical debt, and more likely to see their doctor regularly and fill prescriptions.

5. More than 50 percent of adults receiving healthcare through Medicaid are working or in school during the period they are covered.

» Download a complete list (PDF) of 30 ways Medicaid matters to working Americans.

Fight Back Against Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare

Yesterday, Republicans in Congress reiterated their refusal to eliminate wasteful tax handouts to big corporations. Instead, their plan for debt reduction involves putting Medicaid – a critical lifeline for every generation of families and for struggling communities – on the chopping block.

As lawmakers in Washington, DC continue to try and negotiate a deal by August 2 to pay our country’s debts and protect our economy from disaster, it’s time for our members of Congress to show which side they’re on. You can do your part from home to demand no cuts to Medicaid without shared sacrifices from the wealthiest Americans.

Dial 877-264-4226 or use Health Care For America Now’s click-to-call tool here to tell your Senators not to cut Medicaid to give tax breaks to millionaires, billionaires and big corporations.

More at http://www.seiu.org