Circleville Herald, March 3, 2017: (Opinion) ACA repeal and Medicaid reform would be devastating to hunger relief
“Right now, we see the connection between hunger and negative healthcare outcomes driving up costs for the state and for all Ohioans. Hunger currently costs Ohio nearly $7 billion in direct costs related to health care, lost educational attainment and diminished productivity. Despite recent gains, the problem of hunger in America is still far from solved. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a critical safety net that affords our most vulnerable citizens to have steady access to healthy, nutritious and affordable food, which could be at risk as part of shifting priorities. It could be at risk, even though more than 1.5 million Ohioans rely on it for things like milk, eggs, apples and cereal. Even though most adults without children in Ohio have to meet a work requirement to even be eligible to receive benefits. Even though many of the 700,000 low-income adults who currently rely on Medicaid as their healthcare lifeline rely on SNAP as their lifeline for food. Even though SNAP serves primarily seniors, children and people living with disabilities. And even though SNAP is among the best tools in preventative medicine. So follow the logic: If U.S. House Republicans don’t offer a replacement plan that addresses Medicaid expansion, or if per capita caps and block grants are passed that equate to deep cuts, states will be left to fill that gap. They will be forced to make difficult cuts across the board, presumably in the name of lowering healthcare costs. Its no surprise this doesn’t add up. We cannot programmatically cut our way to better health when we undermine the very programs that work to ensure healthier lives in the first place. If that is the plan, if the intention is to gut what exists and let the chips fall where they may, it will adversely affect the health and healthcare of millions of people, and we all will pay for it, one way or another.”