“Caregivers raise their voices to protect their jobs and the thousands of lives impacted if Medicaid is cut.
About 60 people rallied in Juneau on Wednesday afternoon, carrying the voices of thousands of Alaskans who are at risk of losing their health care under a federal budget plan being advanced by Republicans in Washington, D.C.
Half of the protesters in front of the Alaska State Capitol were caregivers whose work is funded by Medicaid. They’ve been visiting state lawmakers in recent weeks about the potential cut to the joint state-federal program that provides low-income health coverage for one-third of Alaskans.
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Shaine Truscot is the vice president of the union SEIU 775, which represents 55,000 caregivers in Alaska, Montana and Washington. She said she came to Juneau from Tacoma, Washington, and called on Alaska’s congressional delegation to stand up for Medicaid.
‘(Begich) looked them in the eye and he said he would not vote for cuts to Medicaid,’ Truscot said. ‘When the vote happened a couple of weeks ago our members were extremely disappointed in his actions and they feel like they’ve been lied to.’
Truscot said it’s not too late for Congress to change course. The Senate still must agree to the resolution, and Congress will have to draft and pass legislation to implement it.”