Concerns over Medicaid cuts draw crowd to Oakland County town hall meeting
An audience of nearly 200 people at a town hall meeting in Troy was asked if someone they knew would be affected by Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
Nearly all raised their hands.
Four state legislators who represent parts of Oakland County hosted the meeting at the Troy Community Center on Monday, July 7. They and their audience expressed uncertainty and outrage about the bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate by narrow margins last week. Trump signed it on July 4.
State senators Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, and Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, and state representatives Sharon MacDonell, D-Troy, and Natalie Price, D-Berkley, hosted the meeting.
Irma Hoops of Oxford came to the meeting out of concern for a 65-year-old friend on Medicaid who is “near suicidal” over the changes, she said.
“I just can’t help but fear there are going to be more people affected,” she said. “This is going to impact all of us.”
She is particularly concerned for veterans. “We owe them the respect to try to stand up to this,” she said.
Supporters of the sweeping tax and spending legislation say the changes to Medicaid, food aid and other programs will encourage personal responsibility and stop those who are scamming the system.
Critics say it will put the lives of those who are already vulnerable at risk.
The bill slashes more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, according to a release from MacDonell.
It also creates an estimated $2 billion hole in Michigan’s budget; the state administers Medicaid and the food stamp program. The cuts threaten the food and health security of over 2 million Michiganders and would force the state to either slash services or raise taxes to make up the difference, the release said.
Chang said the state will not be able to “backfill” the cuts, and legislators are doing the best they can to minimize the impact on Michiganders.
McMorrow encouraged those with concerns to contact their state legislators – especially if they are Republicans, who support the One Big Beautiful Bill.
U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-7th District, which includes part of western Oakland County, said in a release that he supported the bill because it “delivers on promises made to hardworking families and businesses in Michigan.”
He said it prevents a 22% tax hike on the average taxpayer by making 2017 tax cuts permanent, saving middle-class Americans who earn between $30,000 and $80,000 as much as 15%.
Additionally, it provides the largest border security investment in American history, including funding to build 701 miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, equip border agents with new surveillance technology and hire more agents.
Barrett said the legislation “preserves Medicaid for the people the program is designed to serve: expectant mothers, children, people with disabilities and the elderly.”
He said it requires healthy, able-bodied adults on Medicaid to return to the workforce or do volunteer work. The bill also denies coverage for undocumented immigrants, duplicative or deceased enrollees and other ineligible people, he said.
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