The GOP’s proposed alternative to Obamacare includes drastic cuts to Medicaid,
and changes the way the decades-old program is funded.
If the bill passes,
it’ll have a huge impact not just on people with lower incomes,
but also on the more than 10 million Americans living with disabilities.
Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani went to Pennsylvania to meet a family
whose independence depends on Medicaid.
— It’s Sergei Stemmler birthday,
and it’s shaping up to be a big year.
The 28-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy,
has a brand new job and is house hunting for a place of his own.
— One of the main things that’s hard for me is,
like, I’ve just gotta make sure everything’s pulled up and the shirt’s pulled down,
so I don’t look like a ragamuffin when I go to work.
— Sergei is already able to live with a degree of independence thanks to Medicaid,
which pays for in-home caregivers, like Tasia Bobish.
Tasia’s also a big help for Sergei’s mom, DJ,
who has skeletal dwarfism and spinal cord injuries
and can’t physically help out her son.
— Mom?
— Yes, honey?
— Can I get through, please?
Thank you.
— She’s also unable to foot the bill for his extensive medical costs,
which add up to $53,000 a year.
Medicaid covers Sergei’s medication and in-home care.
It also covers extra costs,
like his wheelchair and the Access bus that takes him to work…
— Happy birthday! — I know!
— ...everything that allows Sergei to live an independent life.
— I wanted to check—
do you guys have any mail today?
— For the past month,
Sergei's been working as a receptionist at CLASS,
a non-profit adult learning center.
It’s his first paying job,
and the part-time gig means he pulls in around $300 a month.
— It's very rewarding for me, personally.
I love helping people.
And this probably couldn't have happened at a better time.
— Why do you say that?
— Because I'm getting paid.
This is kind-of the one thing that I can say I earned.
I can say I did what I needed to do for that.
— You utilize a lot of Medicaid services just to have this freedom?
— Absolutely, and I think one of the biggest freedoms
for me is them having Medicaid cover Access,
because I love my mom and everything,
but I also love getting out on the weekends, going places, and doing things that I want to do.
— But Sergei’s life will change drastically if a Republican healthcare bill goes through.
The GOP is proposing per capita caps on Medicaid spending,
which over time will dramatically reduce the amount of money states have to fund the program.
That could lead to things like in-home care services being cut.
Nancy Murray,
the director of a non-profit advocating for people with disabilities,
is helping Sergei find a home of his own:
— The kinds of services that Sergei gets are cost prohibitive.
You know, you could even be upper-upper middle class
and couldn't afford those services.
If Sergei did not have a Medicaid waiver to receive those services in his home,
Sergei would be in an institution—
and then there's no independence in an institution.
— There you go.
There.
That’s Sergei.
— The fear of Sergei returning to an institution is palpable,
because his mom DJ adopted him from a Russian children’s home when he was just 5-years-old.
— How far back do I need to keep those?
— DJ has fought to keep Sergei out of nursing homes.
She works full-time at an HIV clinic at the University of Pittsburgh,
where her private health insurance covers all of her medical bills.
But Sergei is too old to be covered under her plan,
and his medical bills are too expensive.
— Without Medicaid,
Sergei and I would not be able to live independently.
We would not be able to—
I wouldn't be able to work because I'd have to be at home taking care of him.
Medicaid has truly been that safety net for us
that has allowed us to fill that gap
between what other people may not need and what we need to not be in a nursing home.
— Do you think that, not just the general public,
but the politicians crafting these bills
have an actual true understanding of how it'll impact people's lives like yourselves?
— No, I think they think that people on Medicaid are loafers.
And you all have met Sergei,
and there is not any bit of him that is lazy.
So, um… he works harder than anybody I know.
— If they take away this, they take away our freedom,
they take away everything that makes us just as normal as everybody else.