Evans must protect benefits for children
As a pediatrician in the Thornton area, I am calling on our representative, Gabe Evans, to reject any funding cuts to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in the proposed federal budget.
Medicaid provides insurance coverage for nearly a third of children in Colorado, which includes their access to vaccinations, therapies to help support their development, and mental healthcare. In our practice in Thornton, over half of the patients we support utilize either Medicaid or CHIP and I see firsthand the help that these programs can provide kids and their families.
In particular, we have several patients with complex medical needs whose families are only able to afford the supplies that keep them alive because of these federally-funded healthcare programs. I also have multiple patients in foster care who are only able to see a pediatrician and receive vaccinations because of Medicaid or CHIP. These are the vulnerable children who are most affected when our government makes cuts to these vital programs.
We need Colorado’s children to thrive to allow the state of Colorado, and its future, to thrive.
A perfect example is a teenage patient of mine who has been through the foster care system. He has a history of abuse as a young child which has significantly affected his mental health over the years. He was recently placed with a family member and has been visiting our practice for medications for his mental health. With medications and therapy that he’s been able to get through Medicaid, he has gone from getting in fights at school to getting A’s at school.
He’s gone from thinking about suicide daily to not at all. And he’s gone from being an anxious, sad teenager to a happy and thriving young man. His therapists and pediatricians have helped not only save his life but helped him to thrive, and that was made possible through Medicaid. This is a child who will go on to contribute to Colorado because of these programs.
There are many kids like the patient I mentioned above who live in the Thornton area and will be affected by cuts to Medicaid and CHIP. Representative Evans, if you want to protect the most vulnerable children in your district, protect these vital, federally-funded healthcare programs.
Patrick Tiffany, Westminster