Medicaid provides free or low-cost health coverage to 72 million low-income Americans and those with disabilities. Last month, Republicans in Congress tasked the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, to cut $880 billion from the federally-funded program. That process, called “budget reconciliation,” is ongoing.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed on March 5 that the Energy and Commerce Committee cannot slice out that much money in its budget without deep cuts to Medicaid.
Republicans are looking to curb spending in order to extend President Trump’s tax cuts and fund more immigration enforcement.
Felicia Clayborne's Medicaid access helps her live an active life
WUWM sat down with Felicia Clayborne, a Milwaukee-area disability rights advocate and Medicaid recipient, to talk about the wide variety of support she gets from the program.
During our conversation at her homey apartment in Tosa Heights, she received a package of sugar-free cookies. They're for Clayborne’s vision loss support group through Vision Forward. She’s visually impaired. If you see her out and about, you’ll see she uses a white identification cane and, at times, a support cane.
She also has a condition called photophobia, which is a sensitivity to bright light, sleep apnea and arthritis. Clayborne is also an advocate for people with developmental disabilities through groups like the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities. She has autism and an anxiety disorder and depression that is controlled.
"There are days when I feel like I just don't want to get off the couch, I don't want to move. It's like, 'Can we just let the day go by?' or whatever. But sometimes it gives me a little ‘umph’ to get off that couch and say, ‘You know what? You got things to do. You got people to see. You’ve got things to go to,'” Clayborne says.
In addition to being active in several disability rights organizations and support groups, Clayborne loves to travel. In 2017, she started a travel crew called Abilities Travel Club, mostly centered around people with disabilities and seniors. They've traveled to various places in Wisconsin, like a Veteran's Day program in Kiel.
Another thing Clayborne loves? Bingo. She's done bingo calling at nursing homes and plays at the Lion's Club, at Vision Forward and even in the basement of her own apartment building.
"I surely am a mover and a shaker," she agrees. She also explains that her ability to live a full and active life wouldn't be possible without Medicaid.
"So Medicaid is everything to me," Clayborne says. "Because if I don't have it, I can't go to the doctor. I won't be able to have transportation. I can't walk that good. I have arthritis in my feet and in my legs."
Through Medicaid, Clayborne gets health care, prescriptions, a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and her Medicaid eligibility allows her to qualify for home-delivered meals.
Medicaid coverage will be a big topic at this year’s Disability Advocacy Day in Wisconsin. It’s a virtual gathering on March 12, though registration is closed already.
Clayborne has a message to politicians. "Please don't cut [Medicaid]. This is our lifeline. Your lifeline is your phone, your kids, your family. Don't cut ours. We don't want to cut yours. Don't cut ours because this is how we live, and we want to be able to live. We want to be able to have heat, food, clothing and benefits too. If you can have it, we can have it too."
Clayborne says there’s still time to get this message to senators and congresspeople.
Kathryn Florence Burish's Medicaid supports provide independence
Another southeastern Wisconsin resident who could be affected by Medicaid cuts is Kathryn Burish.
The 29-year-old has a job she enjoys at TJ Maxx. She loves TV shows like Full House and Friends, and she regularly hosts coffee clubs at her apartment.
"I'm actually hosting it here at my apartment, and I'm getting psyched because I love being the barista for coffee club because I like making coffee for like everybody the way that I like," she says.
She has Down Syndrome, which qualifies her for Medicaid. It pays for her health insurance and long-term care services like transportation and meal planning support.
It also allows Kathryn to live on her own in an apartment in Elm Grove. "I love living here. I've been living here for about the past seven years," she says. "And I love being on my own, being away from my parents, even though I do miss my dog Piper sometimes... "
"Right now, Kathryn's Medicaid barely covers what she uses," says Kathryn's mom Julie Burish. "But if it goes away, she won't be able to live independently. She's going to have to live at home, and that is not what she wants."
She notes that she and Kathryn's dad are getting older. "We're in our mid to late 60s, and we've gotten to the point in our life that we've tried to build a sustainable life for her so that we can respect her wishes. But also to look at the reality that we're not going to be around forever, and, you know, step away a little bit knowing that she has the right supports in place, and that they're people we trust and that she trusts and that she's able to make choices," she says.
Julie says providing services to people like Kathryn living independently in the community is significantly cheaper than institutional living. She says it also just makes sense.
"People want to be in their communities, and having people like Kathryn in our communities makes our communities and our world infinitely better because they are just awesome members of our community. They contribute. Katherine works. She volunteers. She has been in a theater group. She goes to events. She's part of the community, and she makes it better— every interaction she has with people."
