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Medicaid Cuts = Death Sentence [1]

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Date: 2025-02-28

Trump, Musk, and Republicans Are Slashing Medicaid—You Are Collateral Damage

Imagine standing on a bridge, watching the water churn below. Medicaid is the railing keeping you from falling. Now, imagine someone ripping that railing away. No safety. No protection. Just the certainty that you will plummet—and no one will be there to pull you back up.

This is what's happening. The Trump administration, backed by Republicans in the House and Senate, is slashing $880 billion from Medicaid. Not fraud. Not waste. This is life-saving care ripped from 80 million Americans—the elderly, children, people with disabilities.

Elon Musk, newly installed by Trump to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, is engineering these brutal cuts. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary, is making it even worse. He's gutting regulations, silencing public outcry, and fast-tracking policies that will leave people sick, suffering, and dying.

This isn't about politics. This is a war on the vulnerable.

Lena, 82, is a retired schoolteacher. She spent decades shaping young minds. Now, she can't lift her arms to dress herself. She can't stand long enough to cook. Medicaid pays for her home health aide—until the funding vanishes. Her daughter finds her three days later, collapsed on the floor, dehydrated and alone.

Marcus, 47, is a construction worker. He broke his back on the job. Medicaid covers his rehabilitation, his medications, his pain management. Without it, the agony is unbearable. He turns to the only relief left: street fentanyl. The next morning, he's found in a shelter bathroom. Dead.

Isabella, 6, has leukemia. Medicaid covers her chemotherapy, keeping her alive. When the funding dries up, her parents empty their savings, max out credit cards, and pray. They start a GoFundMe. The donations don't come fast enough. Her little body gives out before the next treatment.

Alex, 12, has autism and epilepsy. Medicaid keeps him safe. The home aides who prevent his seizures, the therapy that lets him communicate, the medications that keep his body from shutting down—all gone. His seizures come faster now. His mother calls 911, but one night, the ambulance doesn't make it in time.

How You Become Collateral Damage

You may think this won't affect you. Maybe you have private insurance. Maybe you don't rely on Medicaid. But here's the truth: when Medicaid crumbles, the whole system crumbles with it.

- Hospitals will close. Rural hospitals, already on life support, depend on Medicaid funding to keep their doors open. When they shut down, you'll drive hours for emergency care—if you make it in time.

- Nursing homes will collapse. Medicaid funds six out of ten nursing home residents. Without it, families will be forced to take in elderly parents, quit their jobs, and drain their savings just to provide basic care.

- Medical costs will skyrocket. Medicaid keeps healthcare costs down for everyone. Without it, insurance rates will explode. Your premiums? Your out-of-pocket costs? Brace yourself.

- ERs will be overwhelmed. The uninsured will have nowhere to go but the emergency room. Wait times will stretch from hours to days. That heart attack? That car accident? Hope you survive the wait.

And when the next pandemic hits, when disaster strikes, when you need help—you'll realize too late: you were just collateral damage all along.

This is the future Trump and Musk are creating. This is the death sentence Republicans are signing.

If you have ever loved a child, if you have ever known someone with a disability, if you have ever believed that human life has value beyond a budget line—speak up. Fight back.

Because if they take Medicaid today, tomorrow they take everything.

Call your representatives. Flood their offices. Make them feel the fear they are forcing on the rest of us. Demand they stop these cuts before it's too late.

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[1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/28/2306959/-Medicaid-Cuts-Death-Sentence?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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