What does it mean to serve the public? It’s a question I contemplate everyday as a state representative, proudly serving Biddeford in the Maine House of Representatives. Many of the same values I cherish in my civil service are values that I share in my Catholic faith: service and integrity.
It is in reflection of this value of service that I was appalled to watch the U.S. House of Representatives vote to pass the American Health Care Act. The Republican-backed bill would make major cuts to health care programs, in particular Medicaid, a program on which constituents in my district depend. I feel even more morally enraged seeing now that the Senate version contains many of the harmful pieces of the House version.
Service informs my call as a civil servant to stand up against attacks on the poor and most vulnerable, including the 267,000 Mainers enrolled in Medicaid. When a policy hurts 20 percent of our state, more than half of whom are children and another large portion are people with disabilities, it’s time to do all we can to ensure this injustice does not occur.
The Senate is poised to vote on its version of the health care bill this week – and the House version and the Senate versions are essentially the same. We are looking at historic cuts to Medicaid by hundreds of billions of dollars that threaten to throw millions of people off the program and leave some of the most vulnerable people in our country with no access to affordable care.
Service informs my decision to oppose this bill, but it is integrity that compels me to speak up and ask U.S. Sen. Susan Collins to reject it. I urge Collins to oppose any proposals to roll back the Medicaid expansion or place harmful caps on the program. It is immoral to deny people, especially children, access to vital health care services. Collins has the opportunity to take a public stance and do what is morally right — protect health care.
I know this is a value we share because Collins has already publicly stated that any cuts to Medicaid would disproportionately affect children, the elderly and disabled and increase out-of-pocket premiums to the point where they would be impossible to afford. Any cuts to Medicaid, regardless of how small or large, would severely harm Maine residents and would reduce federal Medicaid funding for Maine by $1 billion. It is immoral to place anyone at greater risk of experiencing life-threatening illnesses with no access to solutions simply because of their income levels.
Although Collins and I do not share the same party, we share the same faith. Catholicism teaches us to center the poor and vulnerable — values that mirror our call to public service. In these dark times when uncertainty is prevalent in our political system, my faith that keeps me grounded in what is right and what is wrong. While the health care system is in dire need of reform, there are better, bipartisan solutions that would do more good for people.
I ask Collins to consider why she should support the Senate health care bill when that comes at the expense of millions of Americans? Rollbacks to Medicaid will inevitably result in more deaths and further hardship because of lack of health care services Medicaid recipients will be able to receive. The Senate has the opportunity of a lifetime — to protect a life-saving program. I implore her to stand on the right side of history and speak out against these cuts.
It’s what is best for our state, and it’s the right thing to do.
Ryan Fecteau is a Biddeford Democrat who represents District 11 in the Maine House.