Governor Scott and Secretary Samuelson: Stop the Cuts to Medicaid!

Governor Phil Scott and AHS Secretary Jenney Samuelson

Medicaid recipients and members of the Nonviolent Medicaid Army are rejecting the state of Vermont’s plans to strip Medicaid from up to 37,000 people this year.

We are demanding that no one lose their healthcare, and in fact that the state should expand Medicaid to cover all residents and fully implement Act 48, Vermont’s groundbreaking 2011 universal healthcare law.

One in three people in Vermont rely on some form of Medicaid. Since the pandemic, thousands of residents have received continuous necessary care through the program without having to navigate the complex and time-consuming eligibility process.

Now, following Congress’s bipartisan decision to end the continuous coverage requirement, up to 24 million people in the U.S. are facing the prospect of becoming uninsured or being forced to purchase private health insurance plans with high copays and deductibles. This is happening amidst historic cost-of-living and public health crises.

To: Governor Phil Scott and AHS Secretary Jenney Samuelson
From: [Your Name]

To: Governor Phil Scott & Secretary of Human Services Jenney Samuelson
109 State Street, Pavilion
Montpelier, VT 05609

Re: Stop Vermont’s Medicaid Cutoffs

Dear Governor Scott and Secretary Samuelson:

Last November, members of the Vermont Workers’ Center and Nonviolent Medicaid Army delivered 600 petitions to your office asking you to make plans to keep people on Medicaid, as Congress signaled they would end pandemic protections for the program.

Now, as of September 2023, your policy actions have resulted in almost 20,000 Vermont residents losing their Medicaid — and if projections are right, your office could be responsible for another 17,000 people being cut off by June 2024.

In light of the critical importance of Medicaid and Dr. Dynasaur in people’s lives and to public health in Vermont, we ask you to:

- Put an immediate halt to the State’s Medicaid cut-offs.
- Expand Medicaid to all Vermont residents.
- Work with the legislature to fully implement Act 48, Vermont’s universal healthcare law.

Medicaid is an essential part of our healthcare system that funds hospitals and healthcare facilities and enables so many in Vermont to get the healthcare we need without cost barriers. Everybody has a fundamental human right to receive healthcare, and Medicaid makes Vermont stronger for everyone.

We implore you, as Governor and Secretary of Human Services, to uphold your responsibilities to the people of Vermont, and especially to the 200,000 working-class people, including elders, parents, children, veterans, and people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid every day. Stop the cut-offs and work with the Vermont Workers’ Center and other people’s organizations to expand Medicaid to all residents of our state and make universal healthcare a reality in Vermont.

Thank you for your time and consideration.