Cuts to Medicaid

Cuts To Medicaid - What Happens to Recipients?

Unfortunately Congress has passed a budget with harmful cuts to Medicaid. This vote moves the proposal forward, but the fight is not over. As the budget reconciliation process moves forward, specific House committees will have the opportunity to weigh in and protect millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid. 

More than half of all Americans have a family member with Alzheimer’s. Cuts to Medicaid threaten their care. Cuts to Medicaid threaten not only the health and wellbeing of those suffering with Alzheimer’s but the health and wellbeing of their caregivers which, more often than not, are their family members.

Congress needs to not defund Medicaid.  It’s not a matter of the market catching up.  Medicaid was formed to fill in the gap caused by a failure of the market to deal with individuals stricken with Alzheimer’s. 

For example, just because a worker in one of the last remaining textile manufacturing plants in the United States finds out their parent has Alzheimer’s – do they get a raise automatically because of it? 

No.

Does the person so stricken get a little more in their retirement check or social security payment just because they now have Alzheimer’s?

 No.

So, Medicaid fills the gap.  It can do so because the United States operates on a surplus not a swiftly shrinking source of funds and productivity.

By cutting these funds the Congress of the United States of America is fiddling with the economy of the United States of America in a basic manner.

People depend on these payments in order to support their loved ones and thereby, with a feeling of contentment and secure in the knowledge that they are doing the best they can for their family they then do the best they can for their nation and their jobs.

By removing these payments the Congress is casting a shadow of doubt and a shroud of uncertainty over the future of the lives of the majority of Americans – because, even as more than half of Americans have a family member with Alzheimer’s, the other half know those people.

The shock to small town economies as well as to large cities was felt long before the cuts occurred as talk of them spread.  One would almost think that Americans have a soft spot for their elderly relatives.  In fact, they do.  They would rather deal with the problems of an adult family member with a failing memory and other issues than to pack them off to an industrial deathcenter that facilitates end-of-life rather than provides health care.

The mistaken ideal that profit to the maximum regardless of impact on human health and life for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other ailments, is the same twisted logic that encourages, rather than offers, abortions.  In fact, abortion has become so entwined with marketing language that an abortion clinic offers abortion ‘services’.

What ‘services’ are available for the elderly?  Especially to those who, after working a full and healthy life, then become, through natural circumstances of human flesh, as do us all, fall back upon dependency to their families?

What ‘services’ are being cut off when Medicaid payments are cut or eliminated, scratched off, erased and no longer made?

Well, food for the family becomes more dear.  Medical care for the rest of the family grows dear.  A great many Americans are not even able to afford their own home in their own country so, rent grows dear for those effected.

In my own case – we had three elderly relatives live in my home until they passed away.  My mother-in-law, my aunt, my mother – all three of them depended on Medicaid, Social Security and a pittance in the case of my mother and mother-in-law, from retirement benefits.

Even with that combination the money ended up getting pooled and went to pay for everything and left a deficit. 

Which I had to make up.

I have a wife and two children.

I gained my house by using money accrued in a stock account I managed for myself at my work – when I retired after 20 years I paid the house off.

Now, let’s imagine one of my coworkers – or all of them because I was the only one managing my own retirement fund, the rest took ‘Plans’.

More than 2000 other Americans – lost nearly 50% of their retirement investments because of that scheme.  …and it is a scheme – to convince workers that a third party company investing in stocks is a good way to set aside money for retirement.

Not only that – but among them, they had seniors in their homes or close by that they were helping to support already EVEN THOUGH MANY WERE ALSO RECEIVING MEDICAID.

Medicaid is not a cure – it is a bandaid – and by eliminating these payments you have ripped the bandaid off and taken the heart and soul of American families along with it.

The expected cuts to Medicaid are particularly troubling as individuals living with dementia are more than twice as likely to be eligible for Medicaid than those who do not have the disease. Without access to Medicaid, patients lose critical access to services such as memory care facilities and in-home care. Cutting Medicaid today will only delay a crisis on the horizon, ultimately resulting in higher costs if we don’t have a system in place to manage and support these patients.  It goes without saying that without proper care the crisis on the horizon may be premature death.

These cuts will not only harm patients today but will also create future financial burdens and draw funding out of the system.  This burden lies not just with individuals, but also with their families. Much of the cost of caring for patients falls on unpaid caregivers, with these costs topping $599 billion in 2024.

Please keep in mind that the costs mentioned are being extracted from the economy overall.  It is clear that in some strange way there is an intention to decrease the money supply by stopping these payments, but, that cannot be thought of realistically, because the same entity, the Congress, that is interfering with Medicaid payments, is the same one generating trillions of dollars to uphold what seems to be defunct banks, indebted manufacturers and a lopsided international trade intended to extract cash from the United States rather than bring it in.

In other words – it looks like elderly people are being sacrificed to finance a backward process.  It will not work.

If these cuts to Medicaid are enacted, millions of family members will bear an even greater financial burden caring for their loved ones.  It will lead to privation.  That is, privation, not privatization.

"Privation" refers to a state of lacking basic necessities or comforts. Here's a breakdown of its meaning and some related concepts:  

Core Meaning:

Key Aspects:

In essence:

Privation describes a severe state of want, where basic needs are not met. It's a condition that can have profound consequences for individuals and communities.

Now, let’s take a look at what could happen to a middleclass family of four who takes in a senior stricken with Alzheimer’s – just from a general financial viewpoint.  We will say that the family of four earns $85,000 and the average annual fee to care for an Alzheimer’s patient is $95,000 a year.

Not starting out in the surplus here – are we?

Let’s take a look at the numbers :

With the average cost of caring for an elderly relative at $95,000 a year, what could happen to a family of four that owns their own home and brings in $85,000 a year in salary with no savings in the bank and no Medicaid relief available?

Immediate and Drastic Measures:

Lifestyle and Basic Needs:

Financial Strategies (Desperate Measures):

Emotional and Psychological Impact:

Long-Term Consequences:

In essence, this scenario forces a radical transformation into a survival mode, where every aspect of life is sacrificed to meet the overwhelming financial burden.

Community health centers and emergency departments will also face increased patient loads so the medical and emergency services systems and infrastructure will face increased pressure, and, of course, will refuse to fail, so services will be cut back drastically. 

The removal of Medicaid funding would have catastrophic consequences for emergency and general medical services, particularly for vulnerable populations. Here's a breakdown of the potential impacts:

Impact on Different Socioeconomic Groups:

Impact on Small Communities Like the City of Wayne:

Key Factors:

In conclusion, the elimination of Medicaid without a suitable replacement would have devastating consequences for individuals and communities, particularly those already facing financial hardship. Small communities like the City of Wayne would be especially vulnerable, and the overall health of the population would suffer.

 

Caregivers and individuals will have fewer options and may have to seek urgent care for issues that could have been managed or prevented with access to memory care services, in-home assistance, and medication management.

Caregivers, indeed, as well as individuals, would be faced with increased incidence of stress related illness – and who would question that – except, perhaps someone who is wealthy enough or ignorant enough not to comprehend the real work scenarios that are occurring?

When you remove the safety net of Medicaid, the already immense burdens of Alzheimer's caregiving become exponentially heavier, particularly for middle and lower-class families. Here's a deeper look at the unique stresses and financial obstacles they face:

Heightened Stressors:

Financial Obstacles:

In essence, the absence of Medicaid transforms Alzheimer's caregiving into a relentless struggle for survival, where families are forced to make impossible choices with devastating consequences.

The devastating consequences mentioned include early death – which, in this case, with the taking back of and refusing of aid translates into a rather brutal, though profitable for some, form of national euthanasia.

Spending $10 billion on an aircraft carrier and spending the same amount on Medicaid represent vastly different priorities and have distinct societal impacts:

In essence, an aircraft carrier represents a concentrated investment in military hardware, while Medicaid represents a dispersed investment in human health and social welfare.

 

Now the question becomes – what sort of country would spend $10 Billion (USD) on an aircraft carrier to defend its most citizens from attack if they were just killing them by neglect anyway?

A country that prioritizes spending $10 billion on an aircraft carrier while simultaneously neglecting its citizens' healthcare would exhibit several key characteristics: