NEW LONDON, Wis. (WFRV) - Local leaders held a forum in New London last week to allow community members to talk about their experiences with Medicaid. A man named Brad said that Medicaid is the only reason he's able to stay independent and work and without it, he would have to be in a nursing ho me. Another woman who spoke said her son has a disability and Medicaid allows him to get access to the programs he needs. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health coverage for low-income individuals and people with disabilities. About 1.2 million Wisconsinites utilize the program (comes out to one in five Wisconsinites). "I think it's important to talk about our experiences and recognize in our community how much this impacts people around us and how our life is structured," said Tim Faust who is the healthcare coordinator for Citizen Action Wisconsin. Faust and other local leaders hosted the event. Faust said that a few years ago he was also on Medicaid and said without it covering his medical bills he wouldn't have had the money to pay rent on his apartment. Police in Wisconsin clear driveway of snow following welfare check Faust and others at the forum said they're concerned that Congress could cut Medicaid and worry about the real-world implications if this does happen. "This is about the freedom to live safely in our own bodies, that isn't a partisan issue we all have bodies they all fail at some point in time," Faust said at the forum. Despite their efforts to trim the federal budget, Congressional Republicans insist that Medicaid wouldn't be on the chopping block. Quiet and back closer to normal today "The president of the United States made it very clear we're not going to cut benefits for Medicare, Medicaid, and social security," said House Speaker Mike Johnson. "We got to preserve the programs we just got to make it work better."  ...read more read less