Take Action
Urge your senators and representative to oppose cuts in Medicaid/CHIP
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health care coverage for nearly 80 million Americans, including 38 million children and 1 in 10 education support professionals. Slashing support by as much as $880 billion, as Republican budget numbers demand, would reverberate throughout the economy—especially in rural areas where public schools are economic centers and health care is scarce.
Reducing federal support would not lower costs—it would merely shift them to the states, where programs of all kinds would be under siege. Consequences could include fewer health services for fewer people, hospital closures, higher taxes, larger class sizes, and reduced support for 7.5 million students with disabilities—15% of the student population.
Virtually every student could be affected. That’s because Medicaid reimbursements help pay for school-based services that benefit the entire student population—health care as well as educators’ salaries and the services of health professionals like nurses, psychologists, and audiologists.
Find out more about the impact in your school district, congressional district, or state.