Fifteen years ago, my life changed because of a car accident. It triggered a storm of health issues leaving me unemployed, uninsured and undiagnosed. I was sick and scared — left bouncing between free clinics and charity-care doctors. Each visit ended with more questions than answers. One doctor suspected multiple sclerosis. Another feared early onset Parkinson’s disease. Without health insurance, I couldn’t afford the specialists and tests needed to find out what was happening to me.
Far too many Utahns living with chronic illnesses, cancer and disabilities can relate. The journey to a diagnosis can be difficult. Disease doesn’t always include a paper trail. In the case of cancer patients, tumors can cause symptoms and threaten lives before they are even detected. A person can spend years in pain, confined to a bed or a wheelchair, without a formal diagnosis. And yet, without the paperwork to prove their illness or “officially disabled” status, patients are often denied the care they desperately need.
That’s why Medicaid must be protected.
Thanks to Medicaid expansion in Utah, eligibility is now based on income instead of documentation of a disability. Since January 2020, an estimated 120,000 Utahns have become eligible to access the health care they desperately need. That means people with disabilities and chronic illnesses are accessing care without needing to deal with mountains of paperwork. But that progress is now under threat by the federal government and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
At a state level, DHHS is trying to move forward with work reporting requirements for Medicaid enrollees. Patients would be forced to prove they’ve filled out 48 job applications. At the federal level, Congress is proposing to add similar work requirements. Paperwork should not stand between people and their treatment.
That’s why I’m sharing my story and echoing the voice of Utahns with cancer by urging Sen. John Curtis to protect Medicaid by voting NO to cuts and additional barriers to care. Data shows one in three children with cancer are enrolled in Medicaid at the time of diagnosis. One in 10 people with a history of cancer rely on Medicaid. Access to Medicaid increases cancer survival rates, improves early detection and ensures timely treatment.
Simply put: Medicaid saves lives.
Senator Curtis and officials with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services can save lives by protecting the program as it exists. Hundreds of thousands of Utahns are depending on you to do the right thing and oppose cuts.