#CripTheVote Medicaid Stories

Earlier this year #CripTheVote, an online movement created by Gregg Beratan, Andrew Pulrang, and Alice Wong encouraging the political participation of disabled people, collected stories by disabled people on the impact of the current GOP healthcare bill (first known as the AHCA and now the BCRA in the Senate). As disabled activists protest throughout the country, here are some stories that put a human face on issue.

For more on, check out #CripTheVote and #ADAPTandRESIST on Twitter.

Click and scroll on each image in this slideshow for stories by disabled people about Medicaid (with captions)

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “[I rely on Medicaid for healthcare] as well as home and community based services to allow our family to live together.” — Debbie H.

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “…this bill is irresponsible and dangerous for millions of those in this nation. Not only are these cuts unconscionable but also demoralizing and deeply ableist.” — @MikeeMort

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “I didn’t used to feel safe going to the ER because I was worried about how expensive it would be. Because of Medicaid, I can do more preventative healthcare rather than wait for the worst of crises…” — Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “…lifetime and annual caps on health insurance policies could bankrupt me and endanger my life in the future.” — Lucas Kirshner

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “Being disabled is expensive. There is no such thing as “affordable” care for someone whose medical technology and/or care needs are more expensive than the salary they can make at work.” — Anonymous

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “…access to healthcare is essential while I literally make no money, as I struggle to live each day and keep my head high as folks determine what I am and am not worth.” — Samantha Fonteyne-Crescioni

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “…the thought of losing my health insurance is frightening. Our fears aren’t hyperbole. Your choices may inconvenience some, but they can kill us.” –MB AF

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “I am not lazy or taking advantage of “entitlement” programs and get by on less than the poverty level income…we are not dogs that need to be put down. We want to live.” — Brenda Plumley

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “My health care matters and it’s a right not a privilege…myself and others will be lose our freedom by living in expensive nursing homes and institutions.” — Curtis Harris

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “We are real people, not just minuses on a balance sheet…we matter as more than pathetic symbols to get empty “thoughts and prayers”” — Erika Jahneke

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “If the Affordable Care Act gets repealed the Community First Choice waiver goes away. I will most likely end up in a nursing home.” — Jackie Zamarripã

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “Medicaid allows me to receive service in the community, to choose where And with whom I want to live, and to make choices about my life.” –@AmySequenzia

A graphic with a black background. At the lower left and right-hand corners are the hashtags: #SaveMedicaid #CripTheVote. In white text in the center of the graphic: “Without Medicaid I could not shower in the morning, get completely dressed…the very definition of Liberty. Without Medicaid I’d be back in an institution. — Jean Flynn