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Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, Medicaid is a critical and important safety net and a provider of affordable, accessible, appropriate healthcare, especially in the rural communities I represent.
Today, I will share a story of Florence from North Bend, Oregon. She is a mother, a caregiver, and a fighter. She lives with a rare neuromuscular disease, myasthenia gravis, a rare form of angioedema.
For her, Medicaid isn't just a safety net, it is a lifeline. It covers the critical treatment and specialist care that keep her out of the ER and out of the ICU. Beyond that, it allows her to be there for the people who count on her most. Because Medicaid helps her manage her health, Florence is able to raise her 10-year-old daughter and care for her elderly parents. Her mother who has heart failure and COPD, and her father, who has serious health challenges of his own, were able to age in their homes.
Without Medicaid, this entire support system would collapse. Taxpayers would pay more to support all of them, and their family would be broken. This is what is at stake.
Mr. Speaker, Medicaid isn't just about individual coverage. It is the backbone of family stability across the country; for Florence, for her daughter, for her parents, and for millions of families like theirs. We must protect and strengthen Medicaid. Lives and futures depend on it.
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