Sample Op-Ed – Medicaid Defense to be co-authored with a local hospital
physician/leader
In many ways, Jimmy Tyson is a typical 10-year old boy. He’s crazy about baseball,
loves to ride his bike, and has read all the Harry Potter books. But unlike most boys his
age, Jimmy faces a serious challenge: he is battling Leukemia.
Shock and panic set in for Jimmy’s parents Jim Sr. and Toni when a pediatrician at their
local community health center saw some troubling signs and referred Jimmy to
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh where he was diagnosed nearly a year ago. In addition
to their distress about the prospect of Jimmy having cancer, they were concerned about
how they would pay for the extensive medical care his treatment required since they had
both been laid off and lost their insurance.
The Tysons were relieved to learn they qualified for Medicaid and that Jimmy would be
able to receive his treatment at Children’s, which specializes in treating children with
cancer. For the last year, Jimmy and his parents have made the two-hour trip to
Children’s where he spends two days every month receiving chemotherapy treatments
and medical care that could save his life. While this routine causes Jimmy to miss school
and often saps his energy and appetite for days, he remains the enthusiastic kid he is, and
his doctors are very upbeat about his prognosis.
While Jimmy’s prognosis looks good, the prognosis for Medicaid – the federal-state
partnership that allows kids like Jimmy to get the care they need when they need it - is a
little murkier.
Right now policymakers in Washington are making difficult decisions about how to
address our nation’s debt problem, and cuts to vital safety net programs like Medicaid are
being proposed.
Medicaid provides the nursing home or home care our parents need when they can no
longer live alone, or the wheelchairs or prosthetics our neighbors with disabilities depend
on to get around, or the preventive care for kids whose parents can’t afford private
insurance they need to see the doctor when they get sick or injured. And when families
lose their jobs, Medicaid protects kids from becoming uninsured and denied the care they
need.
Cutting Medicaid is a short-sighted idea that could have devastating consequences for our
friends, neighbors and patients for whom it’s a lifeline, people like Jimmy. It could mean
children from families of modest means would not get access to the kinds of doctors and
specialized, high-quality care they need from hospitals like Children’s.
Jimmy and his parents have big dreams for his future. His time in the hospital has piqued
his interest in medicine, and he talks about becoming a doctor. He should have that
opportunity.
Our communities are richer, stronger and better when children – and all people - are
healthy. For families who have fallen on hard times, seniors and people living with
disabilities, Medicaid makes that possible. We need to send a message to our
representatives in Congress to protect Medicaid and the people who rely on the program
for health care.