On March 18th, our member Sasheena Salvador from Brooklyn, NY spoke at a press conference with Leader Jeffries for the Medicaid Day of Action. Here is her story:

“Good morning! My name is Sasheena Salvador, and I live in Gravesend. I am a single woman and a mom to the amazing two-year-old, Aviana, who just celebrated her birthday by the way. I am also a Massachusetts national guard veteran, and a proud member of MomsRising.

Thank you, Leader Jeffries, for all you are doing to fight for working families like mine, and for the opportunity to share my story today. My family depends on Medicaid to stay healthy, and I am horrified that this critical program is under attack.

I first enrolled in Medicaid when I was pregnant with Aviana. At the time, I was working at a child care program, and I did not have health insurance. 

Medicaid made all the difference for me. Because of Medicaid, I was able to access the prenatal care I needed to maintain a healthy pregnancy. I didn’t have to avoid going to the doctor or skip filling prescriptions for fear I couldn't pay. I could deliver my daughter without worrying about going into deep medical debt. I’m not alone – nearly half of births in New York are covered by Medicaid!

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Since Aviana was born, Medicaid has also been critical for her health care. Medicaid is the reason I can take her for all her checkups that support her growth and development. It also means if I’m worried she’s seriously sick, I can take her to a doctor. What could be more important than keeping our nation’s kids healthy? 

I can’t tell you what it feels like to watch your health care and your baby’s health care get debated in Congress, like it’s a political chess piece but I can tell you I feel like Republican lawmakers have their priorities upside down. Billionaires don’t need another tax cut. Families NEED health care. 

I’m counting on lawmakers to stop playing games with programs like Medicaid, and focus on the real problems that are holding our families and economy back – like the child care crisis. I had to leave my job at a child care program because I couldn’t afford child care for Aviana. For a long time, we barely scraped by and I used to squeeze in DoorDash shifts where I could. Right now, I work weekends and care for Aviana during the week and I’ll do almost anything to provide for her, but it’s exhausting. 

In short, Medicaid is a godsend for my family. I have no idea what we’d do without it. The thought of losing Medicaid is chilling.

So, Instead of slashing funds or proposing more burdensome work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP that would punish caregivers, let’s invest in the care infrastructure that parents need to be in the workforce and provide for our families!

I am so grateful for Leader Jeffries and everyone here today for standing up for Medicaid. This program is essential for families’ health and wellbeing, and moms like me will fight to protect it. I promise you this. Thank you and God Bless us all.”

You can check out more photos of Sasheena’s experience on our Instagram or BlueSky accounts.

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