I am writing to you as a mother who fears for her child’s life at this moment in time, because you have the power to help preserve that life. My child is on a Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Medicaid waiver, which allows her to live at home with her family in spite of her overwhelming medical needs. She has a progressive disease and we work very hard to keep her stable, so she can enjoy her life for as long as possible. Without the supports of Medicaid, she stands to lose so much: her team of highly-specialized doctors, any medical testing required to monitor her conditions, the feeding tube she relies on to live, the oxygen she requires daily, and the medications that ease some of her struggles. Without Medicaid, she potentially stands to lose her life. We cannot afford the cost of her medical needs without Medicaid. HCBS are the MOST cost-effective portions of Medicaid, and yet they will likely be first to be cut if this proposal gets passed because they are optional in states like ours. Cutting or endangering these programs is not fiscally responsible, and will cause costs to rise for everyone if these individuals are forced into the market. You are supposed to be our voice in Congress, you are supposed fight for our needs, to protect our families from legislation that would harm us and destroy our freedom, and this proposal will destroy my daughter’s freedom to live at home with her family and thrive. You have said you believe Americans should have the freedom for their medical decisions to be made between a patient and his or her doctor, but if you pass this legislation, you will be severing millions of those doctor-patient relationships entirely. My daughter is a very intelligent 12 year old girl who loves musical theater and writing, who also happens to have a life-altering, life-threatening disease. She has a bright future ahead, a future where she can contribute to our state and nation, but not if we allow her supports to be decimated. I know there are flaws in the ACA, but there are REAL bipartisan fixes out there that will not cause harm to millions of Americans. I know it is not easy to come together for work like this, but the American people are worth it. My daughter is worth it. The Senate can do better by our great nation and its citizens and I urge you to rise to the challenge, vote this proposal down, and do the hard work you were sent to DC to do. Your constituents need you to do the right thing, and many of their lives hang in the balance. Choose life for them.

Thank you for your time,

Kyla