Congress is considering the largest cuts to Medicaid in the program’s history. Medicaid provides health insurance to nearly 1.3 million Pennsylvania children, including 25% of children in PA-1.
Cuts to Medicaid would impact 1 in 10 children in active-duty military families with Medicaid coverage. Research suggests that military families are more likely to have children with special health or mental health needs than the civilian sector.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick voted to cut Medicaid.
As families grapple with the rising costs of everyday expenses, it’s more important than ever that they have access to high-quality, affordable health care for both physical and mental health.
One Family’s Story:
Twanda Eakins, Telford, PA
Twanda lives in Montgomery County and has a 14-year-old daughter, Gianna, who relies on Medicaid to treat her severe anxiety and PTSD.
This fall, Twanda learned that Gianna had multiple suicide attempts over the past year. Gianna receives weekly life-saving counseling in school and outside of school, both of which are covered by Medicaid, which provides the treatment she needs to stabilize her mental health. She also takes lifesaving medications for her conditions that Medicaid covers.
Twanda works as a per-diem nurse and isn’t offered any health coverage through an employer for herself or her daughter. Without Medicaid, Gianna wouldn’t be able to attend therapy or take her medications because the copays would be unaffordable, which means her mental health conditions would go untreated. She would be at risk of more suicide attempts. “With the help of Medicaid, my daughter was able to receive the required medical help at a dire time in her life. I don’t want to think about where we would be if she hadn’t had Medicaid coverage. You can’t cut someone’s mental health support; a person can’t be whole without these resources, and Gianna would suffer.”
Because one child without health insurance is too many.
We cannot afford the largest cuts in the history of the Medicaid program.
To learn more, check out these resources: Medicaid: Important for Military Families & Future Readiness; Medicaid and CHIP enrollment fact sheets; and the State of Children’s Health in Pennsylvania.
