By David Amelotti
ST. LOUIS (First Alert 4) — Medicaid recipients and providers filled the room at IMPACT CIL for a roundtable discussion with Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski Thursday morning about how they would be affected by Congressional Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid.
House Republicans passed a budget proposal in February that would force $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid and raise the federal deficit by more than $4 trillion.
“They are killing me,” Division of Rehabilitation Services recipient Janet Atwood shared. “They better pay for my funeral.”
“What you’re hearing a lot today is that people rely on Medicaid to make sure that they can live independently in their lives, that they can have a wheelchair that allows them to maintain that independence, enables them to work,” Rep. Budzinski explained.
Those participating included: Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, Illinois’ 13th District
First Alert 4 Investigates asked Rep. Budzinksi what options Illinois has if the cuts happen. She said after talking with Governor JB Pritzker, the state budget simply can’t handle that burden.
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Budzinski voted in opposition to the spending bill.
“I was very concerned about the deep cuts it was going to make to our veterans healthcare in a number of different fronts,” she said.
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Budzinski, Durbin, and the rest of Congress will return to Washington, D.C. next week.
