It’s really cold living in a home with no heat or running water in December. That was a hard lesson I had to learn as a kid when my family was struggling.
Now, as a healthcare case manager, I’ve seen firsthand even more unnecessary human suffering caused by bad policy choices. We need change, and voting is part of how we make it.
I grew up in a large family. My dad was a convoy driver during the Iraq War and was gone from us for nearly a decade. During that time, we struggled to afford the medication to manage my sister’s Type 1 diabetes. My mother stayed home so often to care for her that she lost her job.
My family filed for bankruptcy, hoping for a clean slate. Instead, with no credit, we couldn’t find a stable place to live. We lost our home and spent time bouncing around trying to find housing.
Those hard years inspired me to serve people struggling in circumstances like ours, which are all too common. And as prices rise and safety net programs get cut, they’re becoming more common every day.
When my family experienced homelessness in the early 2000s, the Urban Institute estimated that between 500,000 and 600,000 Americans experienced homelessness on any given night. Now the Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that number is over 745,000.
Today, between 50 and 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck or report being financially strained. This has worsened in recent years as pandemic-era financial help has expired.
Part of the pain comes from the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs and war of choice in Iran, which have increased inflation and spiked the cost of gas and groceries. But even as prices rise, they’ve also chosen to take help away from those who need it the most — and give it to those who need it least.
The so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which this Congress passed last year, slashed Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and shifted those investments to tax cuts for the ultra-rich. So far, over 5 million people nationwide have lost SNAP, and at least 10 million people nationwide are expected to lose Medicaid coverage by 2034.
These changes will affect you even if you aren’t on Medicaid. Rural hospitals rely heavily on Medicaid patients. As these patients lose coverage, rural hospitals are at risk of closing, which could deprive entire communities of access to care. Nationwide, estimates suggest 400 to 700 rural hospitals are now vulnerable to closure, with nearly 300 at immediate risk.
These Medicaid cuts have also significantly compromised care coordination in rural areas. Care coordination lets case managers like me help families find wraparound care for intersecting hardships, from housing to food to healthcare. Since the Medicaid cuts, several providers have withdrawn services that help my clients with daily needs, like laundry or transportation.
My wife and I experienced firsthand how critical care coordination can be when our beautiful baby boy was born with terminal brain damage. Our care coordinator was invaluable in helping us determine his care and its costs. She was compassionate with our anguish.
Even though I’m a case manager and my wife works in human services, we struggled to navigate the system while grieving. How can a family less familiar with the system possibly cope?
Meanwhile, vulnerable people are losing help left and right. I’ve had clients like a woman with a sight disability get denied Medicaid renewal because she could “still walk and talk.” I’ve had clients with missing limbs denied disability benefits outright and then have to go through a lengthy appeals process.
We are all hurting, but together we can start to fix this. Voting lets us hold elected officials to account — and choose representatives who will fight for our housing, healthcare, and food assistance. Our lives depend on it.
