Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, and Eli Crane of Arizona and Medicaid

In Arizona’s Mr. Andrew Biggs is lecturing us on how Republicans are going to pass a spending bill benefiting those who do not need tax breaks to get by. Instead of cutting Defense or some other programs, Andrew along with other AZ Republicans such as Elijah James Crane will be cutting Medicaid which supports lower income citizens. Here is Andrew giving them with the lecturing-finger in the air.

“You can dress ’em up but you can’t take them out” in public.

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Sahara Sajjadi at the Arizona Courier,

“Republicans’ Medicaid cuts pit working Arizonans against the ultra wealthy”

Growing up in poverty in rural America, Elizabeth Lee was only able to see a pediatrician thanks to Medicaid, the public health insurance program that covers nearly 80 million low-income adults, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and children. 

“I remember our financial struggles quite clearly as a child and I distinctly remember feeling so grateful that we could at least see a doctor or a dentist when we needed to. Without that program [Medicaid], I would’ve gone without [healthcare] entirely because my parents just couldn’t afford it,” said Lee. 

Thirty years later, Lee works as a fertility nurse in Arizona, where many of her patients rely on Medicaid. They often use their coverage for birth control, prenatal care, postpartum care, and treatment for gynecologic conditions. 

Some of Lee’s patients could soon lose their coverage, however, under a bill being pushed by Republicans in Congress, which calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid in order to pay for tax cuts that primarily benefit corporations and the very wealthy.

Lee believes the proposal could lead to the collapse of Arizona’s healthcare system and leave the vulnerable communities she treats without essential care.

“If we cut Medicaid, we cut people’s lives short. So we’ve got to reject any policy that treats healthcare as disposable. It’s a moral issue,” said Lee. “These proposed cuts would have catastrophic effects on access to the full spectrum of reproductive health services.”  

Medicaid funds about 46% of all births in Arizona and covers one in five women of reproductive age in the US. Medicaid can also help with preventative services, providing women with birth-control options to prevent unintended pregnancies. 

More than 2 million Arizonans rely on Medicaid, also known as AHCCCS in Arizona, for healthcare. But the proposal being pushed by Republicans in Congress could cause hundreds of thousands of them — including single mothers, veterans, and seniors — to lose coverage and access to crucial healthcare. 

US Republican Reps. Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, and Eli Crane of Arizona are among those who back the effort to cut Medicaid. The legislation mandates that able-bodied adults who get Medicaid work, attend school, or volunteer for at least 80 hours per month to remain enrolled. 

Rest of the story can be found at the Arizona Courier.