Medicaid on the Chopping Block: Where is the Lobby for our Most Vulnerable Women?

It’s a simple David vs. Goliath question: how many lobbyists are there for seniors in nursing homes versus large corporations? Everyday in the news, we hear more grim reports about the vulnerabilities of Medicaid, a federal and state program that provides health coverage for low-income people. Of the millions of people that rely on this program for access to basic health care services, two-thirds are women. This is because women are more likely-to be low-income or part-time jobs that don't offer employer-sponsored health insurance. For most of these women, Medicaid is their only way to get access to basic health care. That’s why we need to be the lobby for seniors who need Medicaid to stay in their nursing homes and other women and children that will be affected by cuts or restructuring of Medicaid.

So if Medicaid ends up on the chopping block, who exactly are some of the women that Congress may be turning their backs on?

• Older, low-income women on Medicare: Over 4.5 million women on Medicare rely on Medicaid to cover their long term care services and Medicare cost sharing.
• Disabled women: Half of all women with disabilities -- over 4 million women -- are covered by Medicaid.
• Women over 50: Nearly 40% of all female Medicaid enrollees were age 50 or older in 2009.
• Low-income mothers and their children: Nearly two-thirds of the nonelderly women enrolled in Medicaid have dependent children, and nearly 30 million children rely on Medicaid for comprehensive health coverage. The range of dangerous proposals would result in limit these women and their families possibly mean it would be more difficult or impossible to join the Medicaid program or have their benefits cut.

It’s time for all of us to become the powerful lobbyist group that these women don’t have – contact Congress and tell them to oppose any cuts or restructuring of the Medicaid program.

This blog was cross-posted from Care2.