On Wednesday, May 14, we mobilized all over the state for a series of rallies and actions aimed at pressing Gov. Corbett and legislators in Pennsylvania to expand Medicaid and accept the millions of dollars — $4.7 million a day — and the tens of thousands of jobs that come with it.
Even more pressing is the half-a-million Pennsylvanians without access to quality healthcare because we haven’t expanded the program to include them as all of our neighboring states have done. We’ve become an island of the uninsured and Gov. Corbett’s “Healthy PA” plan won’t save us.
Scot Rosenzweig knows just how high the cost of not expanding Medicaid is for Pennsylvanians. Scot joined us in the street outside St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown on Wednesday and shared the story of his fiancé, Dina Nelson, who lost her life because she didn’t have access to affordable care.
“[Dina] was held up from transferring to a hospital in Philadelphia to get a much-needed liver transplant that could have saved her life because she had no medical insurance,” Scot said. “And now, months later, her daughters are still being hounded by bill collectors.”
In Erie, Mary Glover, knows just how it feels to be left without options.
“For the assistance, I make too much; for the Affordable Care Act, I don’t make enough,” said Mary. “So I’m stuck in the middle. I have no insurance.”
Jim Potter, a CNA at GLC-Western Reserve, told news crews that the solution Gov. Corbett is looking for is a simple one.
“It’s a simple as accepting Medicaid expansion,” Jim said. “Take that federal money that’s guaranteed to the state and take care of these people – the citizens that he’s supposed to be representing.”
In Harrisburg, a group of nursing home workers delivered a petition to the Governor’s mansion.
“We wake up every day, ready to care for the patients and residents who count on us,” said Brennan Mills, a CNA at Golden Living Center West Shore. “If there is a way to help more people get healthcare, we need to do that.”
Sharron Roy, also a CNA at Golden Living Center West Shore, was there for her mother, who lost health insurance when the company she worked for folded.
“My mother worked full-time all her life, but suddenly had to pay for her blood pressure medicine and doctor visits out of pocket,” said Roy. “It was too expensive, so she wasn’t able to keep up with her care. Now she is forced to skip those treatments that could save her life.”
In Hollidaysburg, we set up a healthcare tent in front of the Blair County courthouse to perform blood pressure screenings and inform the public about how misguided Gov. Corbett’s decision not to expand Medicaid is.
“The funding is there,” Gretchen Miller, an LPN at Valley View Nursing Home, told new crews covering the event. “I don’t want to see any of our residents loose that funding and not get their medical needs or medications taken care of.”
Our efforts are not going unnoticed in Harrisburg. Last month, state Rep. Gene DiGirolamo held a hearing on Medicaid expansion and took testimony from several SEIU Healthcare PA members and our allies. In May, state Rep. Paula Delissio took up the charge by informing the speaker of the House that she plans to call a discharge resolution to force a full House vote on a bill to expand Medicaid that’s been held up in committee by some legislators.
But our struggle isn’t over. In the coming months, will continue to mobilize and fight to push our leaders in Harrisburg to do the right thing and expand Medicaid in Pennsylvania.