The cuts in essential federal funding to the states included in the US House bill to raise the debt ceiling (HR 2811). If enacted, these cuts will do harm to some of West Virginia's most vulnerable. One estimate is that West Virginia alone could lose $8.3 billion in federal funding over the next decade. Many West Virginians would be adversely affected by these drastic cuts in federal funding. Of particular concern to West Virginia are cuts in food assistance and health care that depends on federal grants. HR 2811 would also impose burdensome work requirements on Medicaid recipients and those who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits .
If work requirements are enacted for Medicaid eligibility, 21 million Americans overall and nearly 220,000 West Virginians will be at risk of losing their health coverage, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While work requirements might make good sound bites, we know that work requirements for Medicaid eligibility in Arkansas in 2018 turned out to be counter-productive: 17,000 Arkansans lost their Medicaid coverage within 3 months with no appreciable rise in employment.
Contact our Senators and Governor Jim Justice today. Tell them to show their support for West Virginia and the most vulnerable West Virginians by opposing this political gamesmanship that can deprive West Virginians of a more secure and better life.
Urge Governor Justice to join other governors around the county who have made voiced their opposition to cuts in essential federal funding to the states and to expanded work rquirements for social programs.
Governor Justice - 304-558-2000 or governor@wv.gov.
Tell our Senators to stand up for West Virginia families, and vote to pass a debt ceiling extension without cuts or red tape barriers to Medicaid, food stamps and other vital programs.
Senator Manchin - 202-224-3954 (Washington) or 304-342-5855 (Charleston) senator_manchin@manchin.senate.gov
Senator Capito - 202-224-6472 (Washington) or 304-347-5372 (Charleston) https://www.capito.senate.gov/contact/contact-my-office
You can also take action here [1] courtesy of our friends at West Virginians for Affordable Health Care.
--- Julie Archer (she/her/hers) President, League of Women Voters of WV (304) 610-9094 (cell)
Links: ------ [1] https://p2a.co/3pnaINf