Elon Musk and Congress are waving a chainsaw towards the American safety net which has kept most of us healthy and provided some security in old age for 90 years. Talbot County is especially vulnerable as a rural area with older residents.
1. Social Security is an insurance program that all workers pay into until they lose their jobs, become disabled, retire, or die. Thirty percent of Talbot County residents rely on social security benefits for income; for about 40% of them, it is their sole income. Trump claims he won’t cut benefits, but Musk seeks to lay off half the Social Security Administration workers and close the field offices.
2. Medicare and Medicaid, created in 1965, are slated by Congress’s budget resolution of February 25 for a cut of $880 billion, perhaps all in Medicaid, to enable tax cuts for the wealthy. 16.8% of Talbot’s citizens are on Medicaid, which pays for nursing homes and healthcare for those under 65 with limited income. The loss of Medicaid money would heavily affect our Memorial Hospital and clinics. Some nursing homes could close.
3. To help young families with children, another safety net was created by combining Medicaid with CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). 34% of children in Talbot County are on this program, and cuts in Medicaid will affect it.
4. The Affordable Care Act (also called Obama Care) was signed into law in 2010, offering a more affordable health insurance to Americans, particularly those with existing conditions such as diabetes. Republicans have sought for years to end this program.
We must speak up to save our safety net.
Lena Gill
Easton
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