Last week, our member Brittany Beimourtrusting from Jacksonville, FL spoke about the importance of Medicaid at the Rally to Say NO to Tax Breaks for Billionaires & Corporations outside the U.S. Capitol. The event was put on by Fair Share America and included several members of Congress. Here is her story:

Good morning! My name is Brittany Beimourtrusting, and I’m a proud member of MomsRising from Jacksonville, Florida. I’m mom to three amazing children, ages 4, 7 and 9. I work full-time as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

As a hard working American, like others, we are counting on lawmakers to put the needs of kids and families ABOVE the interests of billionaires and mega-corporations. 

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As a mom, I’m alarmed by threats to health care funding because my daughter, Dreaven, has spastic quad cerebral palsy and daily seizures; after a healthy pregnancy she had a true knot pulled tight at the end of labor cutting off her oxygen causing HIE. She spent 33 long days in the NICU. 

​For her first two years, Medicaid was a godsend for our family, helping her get the strongest start possible. But because Medicaid is underfunded in Florida, we’ve been on a waitlist for a Medicaid waiver since she turned 3. A waitlist that Florida’s children are aging off without care. We are celebrating her 10th birthday next month, she has now spent half of her childhood on this waitlist.

Dreaven safely attends public school with the help of a nurse and enjoys being around her friends, and learning new things. I am worried about cuts to her school therapy included in Dreaven’s IEP. She is considered non-verbal, but she definitely has a voice and am terrified that these cuts will silence her.

And without home nursing care I fear I might lose my daughter in the middle of the night due to her seizures. 

Republicans are pushing a federal budget that makes life even harder for families like mine. Because GOP lawmakers want to hand out more tax breaks for billionaires, Medicaid funding is under threat. Child care funding is under threat. Head Start funding is under threat. Education funding is under threat. 

Many moms like me feel abandoned by policymakers. Moms are expected to ‘figure it out’ while lawmakers cut vital programs our families need. Child care, health care and education aren’t luxuries – they’re necessities! We can’t afford another tax cut for the ultra-rich when it means denying us the health care, education, and nutritional supports to survive. 

We’re counting on lawmakers to invest in high-quality, affordable child care for all.

We’re counting on lawmakers to invest in Medicaid.

We’re counting on lawmakers to finally invest in the living wages that care professionals deserve. 

Moms are fighting and will continue to fight these cruel cuts. We will raise our voices until we’ve won the care investments our country so urgently needs. Thank you!

You can see more about Brittany’s experience on our Instagram account.

Do you have a Medicaid story? We want to hear from you! Tell us your experience here.

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