Trump’s bill threatens rural health care

Even though it’s hard to read, it’s good to see The Daily World coverage of the expected local impacts of the Republican’s big, abominable bill.

As the folks who rallied in Elma said, this bill will impose the largest cuts to health care in U.S. history, slashing funding for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by more than $1 trillion.

That’s going to harm the one out of four Washingtonians, including over 850,000 children, who are enrolled in Apple Health, our state’s Medicaid program.

If one of our rural hospitals closes, it will affect everyone, not just those on Medicaid. When you have to travel hours to get emergency treatment or to give birth, it will cost our whole community in health and lives.

And nearly seven of every 10 births in Grays Harbor are Medicaid-paid, so this is going to affect most births in our region.

There’s an important sleight of hand to notice in this bill: the new Medicaid work requirements don’t take effect until 2027, after the midterm elections. It’s clear that those lawmakers knew that this change will be unpopular.

I wish the lawmakers that voted to pass this legislation had to be in the exam rooms when patient after patient is denied health care treatment and prevention. Is this really how we want to treat each other?

Carolyn Prouty

Elma

Rep. Peter Abbarno’s support for childcare appreciated

I was very interested in the article posted by Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, in the July 15 edition of The Daily World.

Finally, a Republican comes up with a concrete proposal to deal with a social issue. He proposes using tax revenue for childcare expansion, support for childcare providers, and funding early learning. I am impressed. What amazes me is that this is the sort of social spending I typically expect to draw charges of (wait for it) “socialism.” I am pleasantly surprised. I can’t, however, stop wondering how this will play in his party.

In New York, Zohran Mamdani is advocating for government funded childcare. The Dear Leader cried “Bolshevik.” He then stated that if Mr. Mamdani wins then the federal government would have to take over the city to prevent the spread of communism.

How do we go from taxpayer subsidized childcare being conservative to fully funding it being rank Marxism? Aren’t we simply talking about the degree of funding, not the justifications of doing it in the first place?

Is it possible that the ideological objections to social programs are just a smoke screen that Republicans have been using to scare the voters against anything that benefits the workers at the expense of the wealthy? Makes you wonder.

Nevertheless, I am glad that Rep. Abbarno has had an epiphany. These are the types of proposals Democrats have been making for so long that I have forgotten when I first heard them. All I can say is thank you for being part of the solution, comrade.

Andrew Makar

Ocean Shores