 Dear Friend,
Yesterday, I was in Kalamazoo for a roundtable with doctors, students, and medical experts at Western Michigan University’s (WMed) School of Medicine to talk about the importance of protecting Michiganders’ access to Medicaid in the face of Republican cuts to the program.
I brought with me a binder full of 14,905 real stories from Michiganders about how losing access to Medicaid would be detrimental to themselves and their families. Under the bill recently passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, hundreds of thousands of Michiganders could lose access to health care if the U.S. Senate decides to move forward with passing the bill. It would not only terminate health care for millions of our most vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors but also jack up costs for everyone.
It’s not just Medicaid. The bill also included a $300 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a critical food assistance program that nearly 15% of Michiganders, almost 1.5 million people across every region, rely on to feed themselves and their kids.
No one should go to bed hungry in Michigan or anywhere in the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world. In Michigan, we will fight to make sure our kids and families are fed, but we need Republicans in our congressional delegation to step up for their own constituents who need SNAP and Medicaid to survive. If these cuts are signed into law, more Michiganders will go to bed hungry. That’s unacceptable.
As governor, I cannot directly control how much funding Congress allocates to Michigan’s SNAP and Medicaid programs. But I am doing everything I can to prevent our federal representatives from making reckless cuts that will make it harder for families to afford the essentials, like food and health care.
We need your help. See below about how to get involved to help stop Congress from cutting SNAP and Medicaid.
Sincerely,
SNAP Cuts Impact
Yesterday, the Michigan State Budget Office (SBO) released a memo calculating the total cost of the congressional bill under consideration to Michigan at $900 million, including massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Nearly 15% of Michiganders, almost 1.5 million people across every region, receive SNAP benefits. More than 59% are families with children, 39% are families with members who are older adults or are disabled, and 41,000 are veterans, around 10% of our total veteran population. Data also shows that 67% of SNAP recipients are covered by Medicaid, meaning the legislation being moved through Congress could threaten both the health care and food access of nearly 950,000 Michiganders.
SNAP is an effective program that has lifted 232,000 people above the poverty line in Michigan, including 101,000 children. SNAP dollars are spent at approximately 9,800 retail locations across the state, supporting jobs and local economies across the state. We know that using SNAP leads to fewer missed days of work, fewer doctor’s visits, better mental health, and healthier birth weight for babies whose moms have access to food benefits during pregnancy. Seniors who use SNAP are less likely to need hospitalization, less likely to be admitted to a nursing home, and more likely to actually use the medications they are prescribed.
Most working-age adults who receive SNAP supplement their low wages with SNAP or receive SNAP when they’re temporarily out of work. Many work in low-paid jobs with unpredictable hours. Taking SNAP away will hurt workers who are between jobs, work in industries that don’t provide a consistent number of hours per week, or get lost in the burdensome, red-tape-filled process of documenting their work hours.
Medicaid Cuts Impact
In April, I signed an executive directive instructing MDHHS to identify the potential impact that Republican-proposed cuts to Medicaid would have on Michiganders’ health.
In addition, we asked Michiganders to share their opinions on proposed Medicaid cuts. Michiganders sent me a clear message: "Hands off Medicaid!" 95% of the over 16,000 Michiganders who wrote in said that it is extremely important to them that Congress not make cuts to Medicaid.
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Seniors: Medicaid covers 168,000 seniors, ensuring they have access to the critical care, prescription drugs, and medical procedures they need to stay safe and healthy. Michigan’s nursing homes receive over $3 billion in Medicaid funding per year, and three in five nursing room residents are on Medicaid. Proposed cuts would gut funding directly from Michigan nursing homes.
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Pregnant Women: Medicaid covers 45% of births statewide and provides thousands of pregnant women access to critical prenatal care, prescriptions, and procedures, helping them stay safe and healthy. The proposed cuts would affect Michigan hospitals, limiting their ability to provide care to pregnant women across the state. Specifically, expecting moms would have reduced access to services like regular checkups, screenings, and counseling, negatively impacting their ability to have a healthy and safe pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
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Rural Areas: Medicaid cuts would have a disproportionate impact on Michigan’s rural areas where over 60% of births are covered by Medicaid. Proposed reductions threaten essential labor and delivery services, putting pregnant women in unnecessary danger by requiring them to drive further and spend more just to access care.
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Michiganders with Disabilities: Medicaid covers 300,000 people with disabilities, ensuring they have access to the critical care, prescription drugs, and medical procedures they need to stay safe and healthy. Many Michiganders with disabilities rely on Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) providers which receive more than $1.5 billion in Medicaid dollars each year. The services they provide range from personal care and counseling to energy assistance, and transportation. Proposed cuts could gut millions of dollars from HCBS, threatening Michiganders with disabilities who rely on these providers to prevent costly hospitalizations or avoid institutional placements.
Help Stop SNAP & Medicaid Cuts – Contact Your Federal Representatives
If you are concerned about how President Trump and Republicans’ proposed SNAP and Medicaid cuts could hurt you and your family, it’s important you take action.
Contact your Member of Congress, the White House, and your U.S. Senator:
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