This is a call to action. If we don’t act soon, Medicaid funding for Michigan citizens is about to be gutted by the majority party in Congress in just a few weeks. In our First Congressional District (CD), 171,600 people, many of whom are our neighbors, depend on life-saving medical care that Medicaid covers.

We need to convince U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, to do what is right and just for the needy people in the UP and northern Michigan he represents–rather than to tow his Party’s line, so his Party can continue the 2017 tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy.

As an elder law attorney and volunteer for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, I know firsthand how Medicaid’s basic health care is critically vital to seniors, individuals with disabilities, children and low-wage adults. In the 1st CD, 15,100 low-income seniors currently receive Medicaid. Many of my aging elder law clients with dementia or chronic illnesses end up in a nursing home–at a cost of more than $10,000 per month or $120,000 per year. Medicare won’t help. But Medicaid will be your last resort after you’ve spent down your assets to $2,000. So, what happens when Medicaid is gone for aging people in these circumstances.

And what about the 23,100 adults on Medicaid in the 1st CD–most of whom work low wage jobs that offer no health care. In this group, Medicaid covers the cost of pregnancy and birth for young mothers who do not have health insurance. In my own family, our daughter who worked in minimum wage job in her twenties got Medicaid to cover her pregnancy and birth of our beautiful granddaughter, Ariana. Medicaid encourages pregnant mothers to go full term and have their babies.

Also in the 1st CD, 67,100 children and 21,900 people with disabilities receive Medicaid. What will happen in their lives if they lose critically needed medical services? Keep in mind that Medicaid is vital to help the thousands of rural citizens prevent impoverishment from medical debt. Medicaid is not just another welfare program. Without Medicaid, the hospitals of the UP risk significant financial loss and potential closure. That is what happened to Ontonagon’s hospital.

So, please reach out to Rep. Bergman with phone calls and letters to remind him that his Christian faith beckons him to show compassion and empathy for the poor and disabled in his District who receive Medicaid. Those of you who enjoy employer-provided health insurance or Medicare with a good supp need also to have compassion and empathy for the medical have-nots. They are your neighbors. Don’t allow Congress to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy with harsh cuts to Medicaid. Call Rep. Bergman at 1-202-225-4735. Just ask him to vote against Medicaid cuts.