‘A catastrophe for my family’: Michigan moms, doctors beg Republicans not to gut Medicaid

Parents, doctors, and health officials are warning that proposed federal Medicaid cuts would threaten children’s lives and dismantle essential services across the state.

LANSING—Six-year-old Nathan has already survived RSV, multiple surgeries, and a rare airway condition that nearly took his life. What he may have to fight off next? Congress.

That was the message his mom, Katie O’Neal, brought to Lansing on Wednesday as she testified before the state Senate Health Policy Committee, where she and other parents sounded the alarm about Republican-led plans to slash federal Medicaid funding, impose new work requirements, and upend health care coverage for up to 750,000 Michiganders.

For O’Neal, Medicaid has meant survival—for both her son and her family. From stays in the neonatal intensive care unit to emergency surgeries, it’s been the safety net that allowed Nathan to grow up, go to school, and have a normal childhood. Now, she’s scared it could disappear.

“Budgets aren’t just about money,” O’Neal told lawmakers on Wednesday. “They’re a statement of our priorities. Funding Medicaid tells families like mine that our kids’ childhoods matter.”

O’Neal was one of several Michiganders—mothers, doctors, healthcare professionals, and other advocates—who offered emotional and urgent testimony at the state Capitol this week, where a panel of state senators convened to hear about the consequences of cutting Medicaid funding.

Holding up a photo of Nathan, O’Neal described how Medicaid made it possible for her to focus on her son’s care, not insurance claims, when he was diagnosed with a life-threatening airway disorder that required a tracheostomy and constant nursing support at home.

Screenshot

“Instead of fighting with an insurance company, I’ve been able to focus on my kid,” she said. “Because Medicaid was there for us.”

Later this summer, Nathan is scheduled for another complex airway reconstruction surgery. O’Neal told lawmakers she’s anxious about the outcome, but more than anything, she’s scared of what could happen if federal lawmakers follow through with cuts to the program.

“If Medicaid gets cut, those tough decisions fall on families like mine,” O’Neal told lawmakers, urging them to stand up against the Michigan Republicans in Congress who are actively pushing for the cuts. “Please don’t leave Nathan—and 970,000 other kids in Michigan—behind.”

Medicaid on the Chopping Block

President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful” bill would reduce Medicaid funding by hundreds of billions of dollars and impose new administrative hurdles that would effectively strip health care coverage from millions of low-income children, seniors, and people with disabilities.

All seven of Michigan’s Republican members of Congress voted for the legislation, which is now in the US Senate, where more changes will likely be proposed, and Democratic lawmakers are expected to continue challenging the plan’s more controversial provisions.

Among the most sweeping proposed changes: a national mandate for Medicaid work requirements—paired with new rules requiring enrollees to reverify their eligibility twice a year. 

That means families would need to complete more paperwork, more often, just to stay enrolled. And advocates warn that these frequent renewal requirements will likely trip up many eligible families, especially those with children, due to missed mail, confusing forms, or lack of internet.

Under the plan, many enrollees would also need to prove they’re working a certain number of hours each week—or risk losing coverage. That includes parents, caregivers, and people with chronic health conditions who may struggle to meet the new demands.

State estimates show that those new work requirements alone could cause up to 8.6 million Americans to lose Medicaid coverage, including about 750,000 Michiganders.

Today, Medicaid currently covers about 2.6 million people in Michigan—about one in four residents—including three in five nursing home patients, nearly half of all births, and 300,000 people with disabilities, according to data provided by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office.

The proposed cuts would also gut a key source of funding for nursing homes, hospitals, and providers—especially in rural areas, where more than 60% of births are covered by Medicaid.

Families Speak Out

Courtney Gilmore, another Michigan mother who testified on Wednesday, shared how Medicaid has helped her son Andrew, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and relies on a feeding tube to survive. She described how private insurance couldn’t cover the compounding of a critical medication and refused to pay for modifications to a wheelchair-accessible van.

Screenshot

“ Medicaid could fill that gap,” Gilmore told lawmakers. “These aren’t handouts. It’s a safety net. … Quality of life matters for our children, whether they have medical needs or not.”

Melisa Fasburg, a mother from Grand Rapids, shared a similar warning during the committee hearing. Her 4-year-old son, Jace, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome—a rare and life-threatening condition—and has already undergone seven open-heart surgeries.

Screenshot

“Without hospital care, therapy, medical supplies, feeding tubes, and medications paid for by Medicaid … Jace would not be here today,” Fasburg said.

Fasburg said that Medicaid covered nearly every aspect of her son’s care, from prenatal testing and emergency surgery to the $10,000-per-month medication he needed to stay alive after his most recent procedure. But now she’s worried that future treatments, including an eventual heart transplant, may not be covered if federal funding is gutted by Republicans in Congress.

“ These cuts may not specifically be targeted at children,” she said. “But with such large cuts, the impact will reach our children at some point.”

Rural Clinics at Risk

Health center leaders also testified Wednesday about how Medicaid cuts could cripple their ability to operate—particularly in rural areas, where residents are more reliant on Medicaid.

George Olson, president and CEO of Sterling Area Health Center, told lawmakers that his federally qualified health center has already laid off 10% of its workforce due to ongoing financial pressures. And with Medicaid cuts on the horizon, he warned that further staff reductions are likely.

Screenshot

“Our community can’t absorb that,” Olson said. “Even a 10 or 20% increase in the uninsured will lead to more cuts and instead of looking at one health center going part-time, it will close.”

The Michigan state Senate has no control over the trajectory of federal legislation. Committee Chairman Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores) said this week’s hearing was largely designed to elevate the voices of Michiganders who would be most affected by the proposed cuts.

“The testimony we heard today made one thing painfully clear: these cuts are not just numbers on a page—they represent real harm to real people,” Hertel said. “While Republicans in Washington attempt to play games with the health of our state, I’ll fight any way I can to stop these cruel, shortsighted cuts and protect the care that millions of Michiganders rely on.” 

READ MORE: What happens when Congress slashes Medicaid? Ask a Michigan mom.

Don’t miss Michigan’s biggest stories—follow The ‘Gander on X.