JERSEY CITY, N.J. – This evening, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) held a statewide telephone town hall focused on the disability community and what the upcoming reconciliation bill will mean for their lives. More than 5,400 New Jersey residents from across the state dialed into this virtual event.

During the town hall, Senator Kim discussed how changes to Medicaid and other programs under the Republican-lead reconciliation bill would reduce access to healthcare coverage for the disability community.

Senator Kim was joined by Tom Spadaro, a Toms River based disability advocate who was instrumental in helping Ocean County’s disability community receive PPE during the pandemic. He was also joined by Peg Kinsell, Policy Director for SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, and Director of the Military Family Support 360 Project at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

Each guest speaker recounted their personal experiences using Medicaid and provided details on how families and caregivers will be harmed by additional barriers for needed treatment. They emphasized how these proposed cuts and barriers would radically damage the quality of life of the roughly 200,000 New Jerseyans who rely on Medicaid for help with their disabilities.

During the town hall, Senator Kim heard from constituents regarding their fears about what will happen if Medicaid is cut, and what cuts would mean overall for their access to necessary treatments, equipment, aides, and appointments. He also answered questions about ways he is supporting Federal workers during this time, the current situation in the Middle East, and how he and other Democratic Senators are working to oppose the current Republican budget bill, which threatens to cut Medicaid, SNAP, Pell Grants, and other critical funding for working New Jerseyans.

Highlights of the town hall include:

On the Future of Patient Care if These Cuts Pass:

Senator Kim – “Major changes in budget cuts could very well impact [a public hospitals] ability to continue to provide care. I wish I could tell you something otherwise, but I want to make sure I’m telling you the truth. This legislation, as it stands coming out of a House of Representatives, is the single largest healthcare cut in our country’s history. So this is really severe in terms of what we’re facing.”

On the Realities for Tom Spadaro and Others in the Disability Community if Medicaid is Cut:

Tom Spadaro – “I have been a total quadriplegic since I was 11 and was involved in a gun accident. I am dependent upon a ventilator, and have truly depended upon others, all of my life, 24 hours a day for 46 years. Over the years, [Medicaid] evolved with all these different changes to make it better for the disabled community…it came with the ability to go to school, to go to college…it’s given me dignity, and it’s taken a burden off of my family and my partner. If I lose Medicaid, I feel like I’m getting shot in the head again. This time, it’s not a bullet. It’s legislation.”

Senator Kim – “[Medicaid recipients] aren’t asking for the moon, but are just looking for some support; they are struggling from food insecurity, struggling when it comes to keeping the heat on , and are, again, people with disabilities, people that have challenges when it comes to be able to afford this moment right now in terms of just how many different costs they are facing. And this is just about trying to help them through these difficult times.”

On Supporting the People, not the Bottom Line:

Senator Kim – “When we are talking about people on Medicaid, the vast majority of [Medicaid recipients] are employed themselves or in a household with at least one worker…this pushes back upon the idea that there’s widespread fraud or ‘lazy people who don’t want to work’. That is not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about one in every three kids in New Jersey gets healthcare through Medicaid…two million out of nine million in New Jersey are on Medicaid. So this could be really devastating to so many people.”

Senator Kim – “The idea that people can be at the hospital…especially those that need care the most, and are unable to afford or unable to handle the burdens upon them…I hope people see this not just for the dollar signs. It’s not just about how much money is in these programs. It’s about behind that…there are real families.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We can and should be able to stop this legislation and be a country that is looking after all of us, and not just try to make it easier for the ultrawealthy and the billionaires and the big corporations from being able to run the table.”

On What the These Billion of Cuts in Medicaid Will go Towards:

Senator Kim – “This is something that could very well get 16 million people in this country to lose their healthcare, something that would have a lot of impact when it comes to food assistance, benefits, and many other aspects of people’ lives. 
And for what purpose? It’s not about bringing the deficit down. It’s not about being fiscally responsible that way, or efficiency. It’s really just a transfer from those that need care the most to tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.”

Senator Kim – “[These budget cuts] are not an effort to pay down our national debt. It’s in fact going to balloon it by trillions of dollars by giving these massive tax cuts to those that don’t need it at all – people that are so wealthy that they have rocket ships to go to outer space. We’re talking about the top 0.1% of our America getting at least a $400,000 tax cut each year while you’re seeing some of those that are most disadvantaged getting their healthcare or their food assistance cut. And that’s something I really want to make sure people are understanding.”

To stay up to date with the work Senator Kim is doing for the people of New Jersey, click here to sign up for his office’s newsletter

Senator Kim works to expand access to opportunity through education as a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). Kim also sits on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and the Special Committee on Aging. Learn more about Senator Kim’s service on behalf of New Jersey here.

###