“What would you do if you lost your health insurance?”
That is the question that House Seventh District Representative Brittany Pettersen is asking. It has never been more relevant than this moment, as President Donald Trump continues his campaign to rip away America’s healthcare safety net.
As Pettersen pointed out repeatedly this year, it was 61 years ago this year that our country decided that American families–no matter their income level–have a right to health care.
On July 30, 1965, Medicaid and Medicare were established as core pillars of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society,” and have helped generations of Americans access health care, live with dignity, and enjoy greater financial security.
Rep. Brittany Pettersen talks with constituents in Buena Vista. Photo by Carly Winchell
Pettersen doesn’t just ask that question; she goes further, raising these life-or-death questions:
- What would happen if you, or your child, or your partner got sick or badly hurt?
- What if your aging parent needed medication to stay alive but they simply could not afford it?
What would any of us do?
That is something that more of us are going to be facing this year, as the impacts of last year’s passage of Trump and Republicans’ “Big Ugly Bill” are rolling into place.
That bill cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, healthcare for the poorest Americans. It is already impacting poor rural Americans’ ability to use public transit to get to healthcare appointments.
Why? Because the Medicaid transit reimbursement rate has been cut in half, and rural public transit such as our regional Mountain Valley Transit, is cutting routes and trying to patch together transit coverage.
This short-sighted bill had already ripped health care away from eight million Americans. But just in the past few days, Vice President JD Vance announced (without any proof) that more than 700,00 more Americans would be dropped from the ACA (Affordable Care Act) due to federal fraud claims. These are people paying their ACA premiums, who will suddenly find themselves without coverage.
Additionally, Republicans shut down the government instead of extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits, causing health care costs to rise by an average of $1,000 for 22 million Americans.
Why? Apparently to give tax breaks to millionaires.
If there is any logic to this, it is not being shared with “We the People” but it appears this is part of a pattern. The Trump administration is not just stripping healthcare; it is targeting Colorado (one among other blue states) stripping federal funding in program after program, including Medicaid.
Two facts are true: Trump and his billionaire donors are getting richer, and Colorado is facing a tough budget year.
Here at the local level, our county commissioners and county administration have pledged to do whatever they can to take care of our neighbors through the local Department of Human Services.
Note the word “human” in the department name. This building healthcare crisis is all about people. Or should we say “We the People.”