Protect Healthcare Access for All Oklahomans
The federal government is advancing a budget bill that threatens Oklahomans' access to the healthcare we need by reducing Medicaid funding and impacting our state's flexibility to determine how best to care for its citizens.
Over one million people in Oklahoma rely on Medicaid for healthcare coverage, including children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and low-income adults who can't otherwise afford insurance. Many live in rural areas of the state and the closest medical facilities are most often smaller, critical access hospitals that rely on Medicaid payments to help keep their doors open. The proposed bill could limit the Medicaid funding these hospitals receive, restricting community investment and leading to service reductions that could cause people to have to travel father for essential care, potentially leading to worse health outcomes.
Additionally, if more people lose their health insurance and are uninsured, healthcare costs will increase and become less affordable for everyone, including your own friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues.
Every person – from babies to seniors – deserves comprehensive, timely, and high-quality healthcare.
Tell your senators in Washington, D.C. to protect access to affordable healthcare in Oklahoma by ensuring the state's time and flexibility to determine the best way to care for Oklahomans.
Subject: Support Oklahoma's Quality of Life by Protecting Medicaid
Dear [Congress Member],
Oklahomans from all walks of life rely on and deserve accessible, affordable healthcare. That is why I am extremely disappointed with the Senate's recent revisions to the budget bill and ask that you not support the current version of the bill. If these changes to Medicaid are put into law, I believe it will hurt everyone by blocking access to necessary and preventive care, increasing the cost of medication, putting needed healthcare services beyond our reach, and even potentially shortening lifespans through reduced care access.
If the cost of care rises, there will be more people in debt. Not only will increasing healthcare debt hurt families' quality of life, but it will hurt the state's economy as well.
We don't have much time left. Tens of thousands of people in Oklahoma, including parents, children, and senior citizens will be negatively impacted. Please support your fellow Oklahomans and ensure our access to high-quality care is preserved and that Oklahoma maintains the flexibility to respond to its citizens' Medicaid needs.
Sincerely,
[Name]
