Mom Fights for Daughter’s Life as GOP Rep Shrugs Off Medicaid Cuts

During a CNN segment hosted by anchor Boris Sanchez, the congressman was confronted with the real-world consequences of the legislation—particularly for families who rely on Medicaid for life-sustaining care.

Sanchez introduced a poignant clip from a recent interview conducted by CNN political correspondent Jeff Zeleny, featuring a mother of a 9-year-old girl who suffers from cerebral palsy and depends entirely on Medicaid for survival.

“She has cerebral palsy,” Sanchez explained. “She says the only thing keeping her daughter alive is Medicaid. I want you to hear what she shared with CNN.”

In the emotional interview, the mother expressed grave concern that increased bureaucratic red tape and administrative burdens resulting from the budget cuts could lead to disruptions in care.

“I’m worried that the red tape is going to affect our Medicaid because of just the oversight burdens, and that as a result, I’m going to lose my daughter,” she said.

She also voiced a question that underscores the stakes for families like hers: “Who’s going to protect us when they can’t get paperwork done in time and we lose coverage?”

When asked to respond, Rep. Stutzman insisted that the cuts were designed not to eliminate Medicaid coverage, but to preserve it for the most vulnerable. “No, I empathize with her. And I tell you what, that’s what Republicans are doing—we’re protecting Medicaid for people like her, for single moms, pregnant moms, people who have found themselves in dire straits,” he said.

Stutzman justified the reductions by pointing to what he described as rampant fraud within the system. Citing a recent Justice Department announcement, he noted that a $14 billion healthcare fraud scheme had resulted in indictments of over 300 individuals.

“These programs can be healthy again if we keep them for those people who they’re specifically for,” he argued.

He went on to assert that Medicaid should not be accessible to certain populations, stating, “If you’re here illegally, it’s not for you. If you’re an able-bodied individual, it’s not for you.”

However, under current law, many able-bodied individuals below the poverty line, including adults without children in Medicaid expansion states, do qualify for coverage.

The conversation then turned to concerns that Medicaid reductions could devastate rural healthcare providers, particularly hospitals and clinics in Stutzman’s own district. But the congressman dismissed the threat. “Yeah, I don’t believe it will at all,” he said, when asked whether the cuts would result in closures.

He attempted to shift the focus to states like California, which he claimed receive an outsized share of Medicaid funding. “California takes about $160 billion a year in reimbursements through Medicaid. That number alone is larger than the entire state budget of Florida,” he said.

What Stutzman failed to mention is that California not only has the largest state economy in the U.S., but it is also ranked as the fifth-largest economy globally, according to the International Monetary Fund.

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Additionally, data from the California Budget and Policy Center shows that California is a net contributor to the federal government—sending more in federal taxes than it receives in federal spending. Indiana, by contrast, receives more federal dollars than it contributes, making it a so-called “taker state.”

Despite the criticism and emotional pleas from constituents, Stutzman maintained that the GOP budget is a step toward safeguarding essential programs like Medicaid. “Medicare and Medicaid are really meant, again, for all Americans—not just for those in California or New York that are taking advantage of programs or expanding the programs,” he said.