Kristen Crowell knows it only takes one health care bill to upend one\u2019s life and send it into a downward spiral.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2006, Crowell was struggling to make ends meet for her and her children. It was difficult to find the money to pay all her bills on time. Then she received an $886 bill for her child\u2019s dental work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne dental bill sent our family into a spiral of debt, and the shell game of which bills to pay and which bills to wait was part of the everyday strain on our family,\u201d Crowell said during an event in Scranton on June 23. \u201cFirst we got our electricity cut off, then I had my car repossessed, and ultimately our home went into foreclosure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, nearly two decades later, Crowell fears that many more people across the country are going to face similar financial devastation because Republican members of Congress are pushing hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts<\/a> that could leave millions<\/a> of people uninsured across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a choice right now before our elected leaders: Will you push more of us into poverty?\u201d Crowell said. \u201cWill you push us into debt? Will you take away our dignity as we are trying to raise and support our families? Or will you finally get a spine and stand up to the billionaire class demanding another handout of our tax dollars?\u201d<\/p>\n Crowell shared her story as part of the \u201cStop the Billionaire Giveaway\u201d<\/a> national bus tour, which is sponsored by Fair Share America, a coalition of organizations and individuals that advocates for tax justice and of which Crowell serves as executive director. During the tour, which made stops across Pennsylvania and is now making its way across the country, speakers describe what Medicaid has meant to them and the immense pain that cuts to the public health insurance program would cause.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Don\u2019t bow down to the ultra rich\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n In an effort to pay for President Donald Trump\u2019s tax cuts<\/a> for the wealthiest Americans, House Republicans in May passed<\/a> the One Big Beautiful Act, which, in addition to the Medicaid cuts, would carve<\/a> hundreds of billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a> and add<\/a> trillions of dollars to the national debt over the next decade. Every House Republican from Pennsylvania, and all but five House Republicans in total, voted<\/a> for the legislation. No House Democrat voted for the bill.<\/p>\n In Pennsylvania, the bill could cause hundreds of thousands<\/a> of people to lose their Medicaid coverage and food assistance, close hospitals and nursing homes<\/a>, and result in thousands<\/a> of jobs being lost. Health clinics, including Planned Parenthood sites that offer a wide range of health care services and also provide abortions, could shutter<\/a> in the commonwealth if the legislation is signed into law.<\/p>\n The bill is now before the Senate, which recently unveiled its version<\/a> of the legislation. If the Senate passes it, the bill would return to the House for another vote before it would go to the president, who supports the legislation. The Senate was poised to vote on the bill at the time of this story\u2019s publication.<\/p>\n