ICYMI: KDP Defends Kentuckians With Disabilities and Their Caretakers from Extreme Republican Medicaid Cuts

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – In case you missed it, the Kentucky Democratic Party (KDP) continued its media tour in defense of Medicaid and the Kentucky families, health care workers, hospitals and clinics who depend on it. The tour’s third stop, in Bowling Green, focused on the struggles people with disabilities, their family members and their caretakers face as a direct result of the KY GOP-backed federal budget — engineered in part by the 2nd District’s Congressman Brett Guthrie.

“The Kentuckians losing health care because of the GOP budget are so much more than numbers,” said KDP Executive Director Morgan Eaves. “They are people who will be forced to choose between medications and groceries. They will be driving an hour or more to see the closest doctor. They will be quitting jobs to take care of loved ones who need full-time care.”

“I’m very disappointed that our local representative played such a key role in engineering these cuts,” said parent and Western Kentucky University professor Dr. Robert Dietle, whose 24-year-old son Samuel depends on Medicaid to live with severe autism. “The greatest fear my wife and I have is what happens to him after we’re gone. If these benefits continue to deteriorate, Samuel is facing a very grim future.”

“From Hazard to the heart of Louisville, Kentuckians are demanding to know why they should lose hospitals and health care to give billionaires tax breaks,” said KDP Chair Colmon Elridge. “While Republicans hide from the families they’ve betrayed, Democrats are giving them a place to share their stories. We won’t stop until all Kentuckians have access to the quality, affordable health care they deserve.”

Pictures from the first three Medicaid Defense Tour stops are available for the press here. Details on future stops will be released soon. For additional questions, please contact nat@kydemocrats.org.