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To Our Community,
This morning, the U.S. Senate began debate and voting on a bill that would result in drastic cuts to Medicaid — and the impact on older adults in Missouri is devastating.
Despite repeated promises that benefits would not be cut, this bill would:
- Eliminate health coverage for 170,000 Missourians, including older adults, people with disabilities, working families, and caregivers, leaving vulnerable older adults without essential services like home health care, nursing support, and community-based care
- Cut $21 billion in federal Medicaid funding to Missouri over the next 10 years — a 12% reduction in total funding
- Slash funding to Missouri hospitals by $10.9 billion, with rural hospitals hit hardest
At Kansas City Shepherd’s Center, 70% of the 3,000 clients we serve are low-income and living on less than $20,000 per year. More than 550 of our clients live on less than $13,000 per year. 36% of the older adults we serve rely on Medicaid, and 30% receive SNAP. These are not extras — they are lifelines. Many are already struggling with rising costs and reduced services. If these cuts go through, the consequences will be immediate: more missed medications, more delayed care, more seniors at risk of hospitalization or institutionalization.
As the largest provider of Meals on Wheels in Kansas City, we’ve already lost the funding to feed more than half of the hungry homebound seniors we were serving just two years ago. Yet, in Kansas City, 1 in 8 older adults are hungry, twice the national average, and the continues to grow. Meals on Wheels is so much more than just a meal — it’s often a senior’s only source of food and human contact for the day. Cuts to federal safety nets will mean more seniors going hungry, unseen, and unsupported.
ACT NOW:
Call Senator Josh Hawley today: (202) 224-6154
Ask him to oppose the Senate bill and any effort to cut Medicaid coverage or funding. You can say:
“You said you would not support cuts to the services and benefits Medicaid provides. This bill does exactly that. Please vote no.”
By 2034, Missouri is projected to lose nearly $3 billion per year in federal Medicaid funding. Our rural hospitals alone would face nearly $900 million in uncovered losses. And tens of thousands of older adults — right here in Kansas City — would be at risk.
Please speak out today. Our community’s seniors are counting on us.
With gratitude,
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