The Fight to Protect Medicaid Is Existential—And It Needs Your Voice

Making sense of the confusing budget debate, where it stands right now, and what YOU can do NOW to help protect Medicaid for up to 80 million Americans

Here’s the bad news—some Republicans in the House just voted to try to gut Medicaid by $880 billion, to fund yet another round of tax giveaways for the wealthiest Americans. If Congress ultimately passes a bill that gets to the President’s desk, they will strip healthcare from up to 80 million seniors, children, disabled people, and families already struggling with the high costs of care, all to benefit 800 ultra-rich billionaires and a few hundred mega-wealthy corporations.

But the good news is – the fight isn’t over. Congress hasn’t finalized the cuts yet, and we still have time to stop them. If there was ever a moment to raise our voices, this is it. Leading national organizations like Caring Across Generations are mobilizing caregivers, advocates, and community members across the country to meet directly with their lawmakers while they are back home in their districts.

In this piece I help make sense of this confusing budget debate, where it stands right now, and share what me and you can do to help stop this disaster before it’s too late. Let’s Address This.

Photo Credit: Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What This Budget Vote Means

While Congress has voted on a budget resolution that includes devastating Medicaid cuts, the process is far from complete. House and Senate Republicans must come to an agreement on an identical budget resolution, rather than what we have now - two dueling budget resolutions that share two different sets of instructions to legislative committees. The details of these cuts still need to be finalized through legislative committees, where lawmakers will decide exactly how to implement them. After the committees, the House and Senate both have to vote on the floor – marking an additional opportunity to try to stop their cuts from happening. That means there is still a critical opportunity to fight back and make sure these cuts never become reality.

At the heart of this issue is a simple truth: the proposed Medicaid cuts would take away health care and aging and disability care from those who need it most, all to fund trillions in tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and big corporations. This is not about balancing the budget. It is about prioritizing the rich at the expense of families who rely on Medicaid for essential care. Medicaid supports nearly 80 million Americans—including seniors, disabled people, children, and families struggling to make ends meet. In fact, 41% of babies born every day in the U.S. are to families who utilize Medicaid for their lifesaving care. Medicaid means people see doctors when they’re sick, get critical treatments like chemotherapy and surgeries, and receive aging and disability care in their homes and communities, where people want to receive it. These cuts will reduce access to care, raise health costs, increase financial instability for millions, and result in a rise in infant and maternal mortality.

And let me be absolutely clear about one thing.

The impact of these cuts won’t be confined to one political party, one region, or one economic class: Medicaid affects all people in the U.S. No matter where you live or who you vote for, the consequences of stripping away this vital program will ripple through communities across the country. Hospitals will close (particularly in already underfunded rural America), home healthcare workers will be laid off, disabled people and older adults who need care will have to go without, and families will be left to shoulder stupendous medical costs on their own. Emergency rooms will become even more overcrowded, and life-saving treatments will be delayed or denied. Families will be forced to make impossible choices between paying rent and seeking medical care—yes, even worse than it already is where some 500,000 Americans annually file for medical bankruptcy.

This is not a partisan issue—it is a moral one. And this is not a hypothetical scenario. It is what will happen if these cuts go through. That is why we must act now.

We’re Fighting Back—And You Can Too

Caring Across Generations is actively mobilizing caregivers, advocates, and community members in California, Michigan, Georgia, and Illinois to meet directly with members of Congress while they’re back in their districts. These in-district visits are already underway, making this a crucial moment to demand they protect Medicaid.

Here’s what you can do:

📝 Sign the petition. Even if you can’t attend in person, your signature matters. Every name is another reminder to Congress that we won’t back down.

📞 Make noise. Call your representatives in Congress. Be relentless until they can’t ignore us. Let them know: if they vote to gut Medicaid, we will remember in November.

📢 Follow & share. Get the latest updates from Caring Across Generations on social media @caringacrossgen, and stay tuned.

Conclusion

Yes, the situation is dire. But no, we are not powerless. If we organize, we can win. These cuts are not final, and with enough pressure, we can stop them.

But we must act now.

Medicaid is not just a line item on a budget. It is a lifeline for millions of families. We know how this playbook goes. They chip away at our rights, hoping we’re too exhausted to resist.

We’re not exhausted—we’re ready to fight. Speak out. Sign the petition. Show up at their offices. We must protect Medicaid now – because care can’t wait.