
In a demonstration against proposed reductions to Medicaid, twenty-six individuals, including several with physical disabilities, were detained by Capitol police. The arrests occurred as protesters gathered to oppose Republican plans to decrease funding for the health care program.
House Republicans are in the process of finalizing a reconciliation bill that seeks to reduce Medicaid spending by $625 billion. This would be achieved through the introduction of work requirements and a cap on federal contributions to states.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan entity, projects that the proposal could result in approximately 7.6 million Americans losing their health insurance coverage.
“People feel very strongly because they know they’re losing their health care,” commented Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who witnessed the protest and subsequent arrests.
The protest was organized in part by ADAPT, a group advocating for disability rights. Demonstrators, many of whom were wheelchair users, took positions in the U.S. Capitol hallways, attempting to impede lawmakers’ access to the negotiation room.
The Capitol Police issued a statement noting that demonstrating inside Congressional buildings is against the law.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), around 9.9 million Medicaid beneficiaries qualify due to physical disabilities or mental health conditions, representing about 11% of the total Medicaid population. However, this figure likely underrepresents the total number of disabled individuals on Medicaid, as other criteria such as income or chronic health issues also apply.
Medicaid’s expenditure on in-home care for the disabled is one of its major financial commitments.
“I’m weary of fighting for the right to exist,” stated Julie Farrar, an ADAPT activist, in an interview with Politico. “We have been fighting for making the system better, and now we have an administration that completely wants to dismantle all of the spider web of support that we have.”
President Donald Trump had assured during his campaign that Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security would remain untouched. He reaffirmed this stance in a February interview with Sean Hannity, stating, “Medicare, Medicaid—none of that stuff is going to be touched,” as reported by The New York Times.
The suggested Medicaid reductions are intended to finance the prolongation of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which largely benefited affluent individuals and major corporations.
ADAPT previously organized protests at the U.S. Capitol in 2017, opposing efforts by Trump and House Republicans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. That repeal attempt ultimately failed in the U.S. Senate.
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