The potential impact of the immediate federal spending freeze on Scenic Rivers is alarming.  However, there is an even greater threat to our ability to receive health care in our community; the Republican budget being advanced in the House of Representatives.  This budget plan calls for crippling cuts to Medicaid and Medicare.  
To give you an idea of the magnitude of these cuts, the proposal seeks to cut $880 billion dollars from such programs, with the biggest portion affecting Medicaid, while the entire 2023 federal Medicaid budget was $860 billion. 
This would not only be devastating to our family members and neighbors, but could deal a death blow to every hospital, medical clinic and nursing home in the region. Rural health care facilities depend on the flow of Medicaid and Medicare dollars to keep the doors open. This is so because they have fixed costs of staff, equipment, building maintenance and much more. These costs have to be paid whether a facility serves one patient or 1,000 patients.  Scenic Rivers employs the doctors who staff the Cook Hospital and is highly dependent on Medicaid dollars and reimbursements from programs on the chopping block.  Because our area is rural and largely poor, many of the patients whose fees help pay these costs are on Medicaid.  Many others are eligible for Medicare.  Some people simply brush off such cuts because they do not believe these programs impact their lives.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.  Just try to go to a hospital that can’t make payroll because of a lack of Medicaid and Medicare revenue.  Just try to go to a hospital that has no doctors because the clinic that employs them can no longer function.  It’s impossible to get care at a hospital that’s closed, see the doctor at a medical clinic that’s closed, or get your mom or grandparent care at a nursing home that’s closed even if you have private insurance.  These drastic cuts don’t just affect the other guy; they affect you and your family.  Why would Congressional Republicans do this to us?   House Republicans are going to close our hospitals, clinics and nursing homes so they can give Elon Musk and his billionaire buddies a tax break.  They propose to steal from you to give money to the world’s richest people.  I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem fair or wise to me.  I’m sure that Republican consultants will put out fancy sounding statements to try to convince voters these cuts are justified, but we know better.  When you take away money hospitals need to keep the doors open, the doors close.  It is as simple as that.  It’s time to tell Rep. Stauber that he works for us, not Elon Musk, and that we will not be robbed or left without hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and health care.  That is not acceptable, and everyone should give his office a call and tell him so.
 Kelly Dahl
Linden Grove Township