During the week of September 21st, 2024, we took action together as the Nonviolent Medicaid Army in twelve states across the South, Midwest, Appalachia and the Northeast to declare: Medicaid cuts = death! We united to say that the denial of healthcare is policy violence and so is cutting 25 million people off of Medicaid in every state and county in the United States. Healthcare is a human right!
The Poor People’s Campaign has shown that poverty is the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S., and 800 people die every day in the richest country that’s ever existed in the history of the world! Our healthcare system is failing – and we are dying as a result of a system that puts profit over our lives. We lift up in mourning and honor the names of those we’ve lost: Roxy Hall Williamson, Ms. Vernadine Kimball, Erro Lynd, Tyrone Nelson Murdock, Brandon Collofello, and so many others.
We cry justice, and challenge the false narrative that this Medicaid purge is “going back to normal”, or that the millions who have been and will be cut can get healthcare through their employer or through the ACA. This is a public relations stunt. What is TRUE is that millions will suffer without healthcare altogether, or under the crushing weight of co-pays, deductibles, denial of care, and medical debt. What will happen is the increasing homelessness, addiction, and imprisonment of the working class.
But there is hope! We are uniting across all lines of division, getting into step, and asserting our political independence. We won’t be silent anymore! Who are we? The Medicaid Army!
With gratitude to the New York State Poor People’s Campaign Media Team for the creation of this video!
