With the government shutdown deadline rapidly approaching, concerns are mounting among some Kentuckians about potential funding cuts to programs like Medicaid. Lisa Garrison, who raised her children in Eastern Kentucky while cov ered under Medicaid, expressed her anxiety about the potential cuts. "Scared, uncertain, frightened for the people that I love," she said.Garrison's family heavily relied on Medicaid, particularly when her youngest child faced a costly eye condition. "Because of income, I couldn't have afforded the type of insurance that would have been needed to cover some of the things that my children had happened to them," she explained.The Kentucky Center for Economic Research reports that 44 percent of residents in Kentucky's 5th Congressional District are covered by Medicaid. Despite this, Congressman Hal Rogers was one of 217 representatives supporting a resolution in late February that the Congressional Budget Office says would require cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, or SNAP. LEX 18 contacted Rep. Rogers' team for a response to these concerns. He reaffirmed his support for Medicaid, but explained that the country needs to eliminate wasteful spending from the program. "In fact, I want to protect our benefit programs for years to come. And the best way we can do that is to remove the waste, fraud, and abuse of Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security," Rogers said in a video statement.However, some are skeptical whether federal budget cuts can be implemented without adversely affecting families reliant on Medicaid, as well as the broader economy. "If that (Medicaid) money is withdrawn from our economy, it could have a profound impact not only on our state budget and the health sector but also on jobs, wages, and local economic vitality," said Dustin Pugel, policy director with the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.As the debate on federal spending cuts continues, Garrison calls for lawmakers to back their verbal support for Medicaid with their votes. "Medicaid matters. It matters to people. It matters to your community, it matters to the Commonwealth and to the country," she said. ...read more read less