Senator Mitch McConnell thinks he can vote to take away Medicaid from over a million people in our state and that Kentuckians will “just get over it.” He thinks that when he encourages Republican members of congress to do the same across the country, that the American people will “just get over it.” Well, I will never forget and never get over his vote. And neither will the rest of our country.
I’ve lived my whole life here in Jackson County, Kentucky, and I have never seen any politician treat the people of our state and the American people with such disrespect. I’m proud to have raised my three children, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren here.
As someone who has lived and worked hard their entire life in Kentucky, the senator’s words are a slap across my face. In my long career, I was a jack of all trades. I was a factory worker, woodcrafter, and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) before pursuing college late in my career. Afterwards, I was an office administrator and business owner, starting small sewing and flower-arranging shops. In my retirement, sometimes I still sell silk flower arrangements.
However, it’s not enough to pay for the skyrocketing cost of a basic life these days. While my family takes care of me in every way they can, money has been a struggle across generations. This means that I must still turn to government assistance to help me afford the costs of staying healthy at my age.
SNAP is a regular helping hand in my life that allows me to go to the grocery store with dignity. I only receive $60 a month, but that’s much better than the $16 I used to receive. Family and friends told me not to bother with the paperwork, but why not? It still helped me afford two or three meals of bread, milk, and sausage every month. However, it is definitely not enough. Just one shopping bag’s worth of groceries exceeds my SNAP benefits these days.
In terms of medical costs, I am disabled, having injured my shoulder in the 1980s during my woodworking career and requiring intensive surgery. I used to receive disability benefits, but no longer qualify for this support. Without disability payments, Medicaid is key in keeping me alive and well. It’s always helped me pay my medical bills and procedures. I need constant oxygen assistance and a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure to keep my airways open while I sleep. I could not survive without Medicaid and the equipment, medications, and life it gives me.
I’m not sure how I could afford all these medicines if my Medicaid was taken away. Perhaps I’d just have to go without them, but I’d risk serious consequences like kidney failure and going blind. Americans who have worked their entire life should not go blind in their golden years because they lost their healthcare. That just shouldn’t happen to any of us in the richest nation on earth.
My entire life, I always thought my representatives were supposed to serve us, the people who elected them. I voted for President Trump multiple times because he always assured us that he’d be on our side. So last week, I was shocked when I watched my Senator Mitch McConnell vote for President Trump’s Medicaid/SNAP cuts and then assure his friends in Congress that people like me who rely on the programs would simply “get over it.” I felt betrayed and deceived. I could not believe that my President and Senator had just sold me and all of Kentucky’s 1.4 million Medicaid recipients and 600,000 SNAP recipients to the highest bidder.
While Senator Rand Paul earned my respect because he had the backbone to vote no, I cannot say the same for McConnell. When McConnell and everyone else in Congress who voted for the cuts are up for re-election, we won’t forget this and we won’t forgive them. In other words, we will never just ‘get over it.’
Betty Clemons
Jackson County Kentucky
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