Congressman Morgan McGarvey Defends Medicaid in Congressional Hearing, Shares Story of 10-Year-Old Louisvillian
Today, Congressman Morgan McGarvey delivered passionate remarks in defense of Medicaid during a House Budget Committee hearing, sharing the story of a 10-year-old Louisvillian named June who has Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and receives health insurance and treatment through Medicaid.
As a member of the House Budget Committee, Congressman McGarvey has been fighting tooth and nail against the Republican budget that will cut Medicaid by up to $880 billion, which would be devastating to Louisville. Over 200,000 Louisvillians rely on Medicaid for health care coverage, including 103,000 children under the age of 19 and 17,000 seniors over 65.
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TRANSCRIPT:
[2:48] They swear they aren’t touching Medicare, so that only leaves Medicaid.
I know, we’ve heard: “Waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid.” You know what? I agree. Let’s get rid of it. Let’s get rid of all of it. I will help you. Every dollar we get rid of that is waisted or is fraudulent in Medicaid can go to someone who needs it.
So now that we’ve gotten rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse, where are you going to come up with the other hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts?
There is only one option. It is taking health care away from people who use Medicaid. People like the 30 million children, the 8 million disabled Americans, the 7 million seniors – even 10% of our veterans participate in the Medicaid program.
[3:35] It’s going to hurt people like my constituent, June.
June is a 10-year-old, a 10-year-old with Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, the most serious form of the disease. She’s wheelchair bound. She’s epileptic. She has visual and hearing impairments. She requires 24/7 care.
I met June and her mom, Meg, at a Medicaid town hall in my district just last month. Medicaid provides June with a therapist for PT, for OT, for speech therapy. It allows her to live at home and get care at home from not just trained professionals, but from a mother who loves her and is the only person who can make her smile.
She’s medically fragile. She had three surgeries last week. Her mother’s worked four jobs, but nobody can afford care like this. She’s covered by Medicaid. Now, it’s on the chopping block.
Republicans refuse to craft a sensible budget, but state legislators still have to, so if these cuts go through, a state like mine is going to be devastated. It’ll blow a massive hole in Kentucky’s budget, leaving people like June without insurance.
She’s just a kid. She likes her brothers when they’re silly. She likes her dogs. She likes YouTube and Chappell Roan, just like my daughter does.
She deserves better than this budget.
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