Dear Editor:
There is an issue on the news related to the federal budget that could have HUGE implications for Pendleton County. I write to encourage everyone, regardless of financial status or political affiliation, to learn what they can about the proposal to cut Medicaid funding at the federal level. Regardless of what you think about the program, please be aware that it is essential to health care all across the state, whether that is hospitals like Grant, Davis Memorial, and WVU, pharmacies like the Pill Box, primary care facilities like PCC, or nursing homes like the Manor. It would be a rare person in Pendleton County who is not affected by at least one of these, somehow or other. I do not have any inside information, just what I can get from reading the news.
There is a group in West Virginia called The WV Center for Budget and Policy. It is a non-profit, not part of government. They have information that might help you imagine how we will be affected by proposed cuts. You can Google them and look under their News, Health, and Special Projects tabs.
If you want to do something about this, contact your state and federal representatives.
If I didn’t yell “fire!” when seeing flames in a friend’s house, regardless of how I thought it got started, I would feel irresponsible. This letter is my way of yelling “Fire!” Hoping we can stop the fire.
Jennifer Taylor-Ide
