| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 1, 2021 |
PRESS CONTACT Claire Murchison claire@firesidecampaigns.com |
“This legislation saves lives.” Health Care Voices founder Laura Packard Celebrates Medicaid Awareness Month
DENVER—Today, as Medicaid Awareness Month kicks off, millions of health care advocates and activists, like Health Care Voices founder Laura Packard, highlight Medicaid’s vital importance in our communities.
Medicaid covers over 70 million Americans with health care, including low income adults, children, pregnant people, seniors, and people with disabilities. Medicaid plays a fundamental role in helping our nation fight COVID-19, and has saved countless lives and finances. Yet several states have still not taken advantage of the critical provision to expand health care to some of their poorest residents.
12 states still refuse to expand Medicaid in their states through the Affordable Care Act to-date, although the American Rescue Plan includes new big financial incentives to do so. Because of the resistance from lawmakers in AL, FL, GA, KS, MS, NC, SC, SD, TN, TX, WI, and WY, about four million adults await quality health coverage as their states delay Medicaid expansion.
For someone whose quality coverage through the Affordable Care Act amounted to life or death, Laura urges hesitant legislators to take immediate action, to benefit from federal dollars and save the lives of their constituents.
Laura Packard is a Denver-based health care advocate and stage-IV cancer survivor. She founded Health Care Voices in 2018, and she currently serves as executive director of Get America Covered, co-chair of Health Care Voter, and advisor to Be a Hero PAC. She testified to the Democratic National Convention platform committee about health care and spoke on a panel with Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
If you’re interested in interviewing Health Care Voices Founder Laura Packard, please reach out to claire@firesidecampaigns.com.
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