Will Medicaid cuts have catastrophic economic and moral consequences? | Opinion

Faithful care

As a pastor, I’m deeply concerned about the proposed Medicaid cuts. I’ve seen firsthand the ways that people’s lives are shaped by health care — or the lack of it. I’ve prayed with parents navigating a child’s life-altering illness, and sat with older adults struggling to afford prescriptions and groceries. And I know the effects of health care deferred — which too often results in substantial physical, familial and financial strain.

I’ve also heard the voices advocating for healthier communities. For years, my congregation has joined interfaith leaders, farmers, small business owners and doctors defending Medicaid. We don’t all agree on politics, but we do agree on the importance of keeping our neighbors healthy. And we know investing in health care now saves us from economic and moral bankruptcy later.

Let’s be clear: This is a matter of morality before it’s a matter of policy. Caring for the poor, sick and vulnerable is a mandate of my religious tradition. From Deuteronomy’s warning against being “hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor,” to Jesus’ reminder that what we “do unto the least of these” we have “done unto him,” our faith is not ambiguous.

Neither, then, should our voices be: We must reject Medicaid cuts.

- Kyle Reynolds, Lenexa

Hazardous cuts

Medicaid, known as KanCare in Kansas, is being slashed under the guise of eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. But the proposed cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans would do nothing of the sort. Instead, nearly 11 million Americans could lose their health coverage.

Rural Kansas would be hit especially hard. Last year, 66% of Kansas rural hospitals, which serve large numbers of Medicaid patients, were at risk of closing, with 28 hospitals identified at immediate risk of closing, the highest number of any state. The proposed $793 billion in cuts to Medicaid could shut their doors for good, leaving entire communities without lifesaving care and hurting local economies.

These cuts also threaten progress in the fight against cancer. More than 373,000 Kansans, including nearly 8,000 with a history of cancer, rely on Medicaid. Without it, people living with cancer could be forced to interrupt or stop their care completely, and others would lose access to regular cancer screenings and prevention.

Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall must keep their constituents in mind and reject these harmful cuts that, far from addressing waste, fraud and abuse, could drive up health care costs and lead to more suffering and deaths among Kansas families.

- Roy A. Jensen, Former board member, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Gardner

Common sense

Why oh why can’t you report the news in a real news format and not your liberal leaning thought process? The majority of the voters in the United States believe in common sense for political matters and life in general. Adjust to your readers and prospective customers.

- Curtis Fay, Lake Tapawingo

Hear Kansans

Across Kansas, folks are fed up with being ignored. We’ve seen executive actions in Washington, D.C., threaten our farms, cut programs our towns rely on and trample on due process — without so much as a hearing or a vote. When the federal government acts without Congress, Kansas communities often pay the price.

Meanwhile, many of our federal officials are nowhere to be found. They dodge public events, hold closed-door meetings and ignore questions from their own constituents. That’s not public service — it’s a dereliction of duty.

That’s why more than 700 Kansans have signed the Leading Kansas Civic Demand for Answers, asking our elected representatives to stand up, show up, and respond to the concerns of everyday Kansans.

Moreover, we’re proud to announce that Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida will join us for a town hall in Wichita on Saturday, June 29, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the WSU Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex. They’re not from Kansas — but they’re showing the kind of leadership so desperately needed in this moment. RVSP at mobilize.us/frostforcongress/event/804354

Leading Kansas is a nonpartisan organization fighting for accountability and transparency. Learn more and sign the civic demand petition at LeadingKansas.org

- Christine Jantz, Wichita

Iraq lessons

Before we get sucked into yet another war, remember the Iraq War lasted 18 years, cost $3 trillion and inflicted hundreds of thousands of people, including our own, with death and disability. Iran has nearly four times the population Iraq had then, four times the area and is one of the most mountainous countries on Earth. It essentially controls the Persian Gulf, so occupation would be required.

Parading the troops is not the same as winning a war. In Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, we’ve declared “victory” and helicoptered out. These conflicts all have in common no clear objective, long expensive supply lines and no shared language or culture.

With each, we’ve forgotten that military force makes enemies faster than it can kill them. Even those, like translators who would help our military, are going to be reluctant to trust any promise we make. This president has taken away possible refugee status to those still hiding in Afghanistan, and is threatening to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement after those who’ve made it to our shores.

Loss of credibility has consequences on the ground. He is famous for not “doing detail,” but these things matter.

- William C. Dorsett, Manhattan

In line?

Donald Trump’s warped comments about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as his response to the tragic loss of life of a Minnesota state representative and her husband seems unimaginable and is less than low class. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt’s denunciation of this deed is appropriate. (June 19, 10A, “In a show of decency, US Senator Eric Schmitt denounces Minnesota shootings”)

Now will the president’s other followers publicly react the same way? Or are they cut from the same cloth as their leader? It is so sad that decency and empathy are scorned or ignored by public officials who follow the president’s example.

- R.E. Reiter, Kansas City

Burning up

Sens. Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall believe anyone who burns the American flag deserves a year in jail. (June 17, 7A, “How Hawley, Marshall choose Trump over the First Amendment”) The flag is a piece of fabric that represents freedom. The current administration is burning everything the flag represents. What is the punishment for that?

Which is worse: burning the physical flag or burning the ideals on which this country was founded?

- Shirley Lewis, Overland Park