An Exclusive Sneak Peek: Stories From The States

Chris Fitzsimon

Hi, I’m States Newsroom’s publisher Chris Fitzsimon.

Daily news especially in today’s time can get overwhelming. 

At times it’s hard to keep up how it all could impact you, your family and your community. 

To help with that, we’re launching Stories From the States. 

It’s a weekly news podcast that explores one issue happening in the states that could shape the entire country.  

Here’s an exclusive sneak peek into an episode... 

Chris Fitzsimon

This is Stories From The States. I'm Chris Fitzsimon. As always, a fire hose of news around the country this week. This week, we're going to talk about Medicaid. President Trump's so called, "One Big, Beautiful Bill" will slash nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid spending over 10 years. The federal government says a s of May, over 78 million people in our country rely on the program. It's geared mainly for low income individuals and families, and it's funded both by state and federal governments. Many stakeholders are reacting much differently to the proposed cuts.

Marty Schladen

Well, very surprising to me, the rural hospital systems are not bucking them at all. They're saying, you know, thank you, thank you. Thank you for this. We're going to be better off

Emma Widmar

The boxes that you need to check, don't really go into detail about what a person's life truly is like and what their story is.

Chris Fitzsimon

Today, we're going to talk about Medicaid in Ohio and Wisconsin. In Ohio, the Republican governor has wanted a work requirement for Medicaid beneficiaries for quite a while, while one woman in Wisconsin is struggling to imagine what the future of her health care might look like under the changes. We'll hear more from her in a moment.

Chris Fitzsimon

As of May, more than 78 million people relied on Medicaid for health care. In Wisconsin, over 1.2 million people do. One of the enrollees there says the program is an actual lifeline. The 26 year old has been chronically ill for half her life, and with the impending cuts to Medicaid and other programs, she's not sure how her life might change.  Joining me now is Emma Widmar from Wisconsin. Emma, thanks for being here.

Emma Widmar

Thank you for having me and letting me share my story with you.

Chris Fitzsimon

Well, let's, let's just jump in. Tell us about you. What brings you to want to talk about this? What's your experience with Medicaid and your and your situation?

Emma Widmar

Yeah, so I am a 26 year old woman who is on Medicaid, but also Medicare. I was a typical child, so to say, for the most part. But when I was 12 years old, I started having a range of unexplained symptoms, going from anything from anaphylaxis to passing out, and nobody could figure out kind of what was going on with me. I was, at the time, an elite volleyball player, you know, a straight A student, and my world changed overnight.

Chris Fitzsimon

That must have that must have been jarring.

Emma Widmar

Yeah, it was a lot, you know, for a 12 year old. From the time I was 12 until 18, I was under my parents insurance, but because my symptoms are unpredictable and ever changing. You know, most kids when they're 18, they might buy a scratch off I was, I was applying for Social Security.

Chris Fitzsimon

And and then, what is it like navigating that world and then hearing a public debate about massive cuts in Medicaid, or in some cases, sadly blaming people who are on Medicaid or saying they don't want to work. Or what's it like listening to that sort of rhetoric and debate given your situation?

Emma Widmar

Yeah, if someone looked at me from the outside, I am an individual with an invisible disability at times, and then other times I'm using a wheelchair. You can see my service dog. It's very visible. And I am an educated woman. I have a college degree, and often times we judge without really knowing the situation. And it's like that for a lot of individuals who need support services. I know that a common thing is that there's so much fraud, that there's so much misuse, that you know, people are being granted these services when they don't really need them, and I know that I fully need them, and I struggle, you know, I have my parents, who are both college educated as well. We're white, you know, we do not look like the bias that people have when it comes to Medicaid or social services. And. And we struggle to figure out these programs.

Chris Fitzsimon

And finally, before we let you go, given that you are part of community, that you've talked to other folks and giving your given your personal circumstances, if you could get one point across to policymakers or people who were they've already passed this bill, but some of the most restrictive provisions don't go into effect. There's always time, I think, for things to change. What would you want policymakers, especially in Washington, to know?

Emma Widmar

I just want people to understand that it can happen to you. It it will happen to you. You're going to age. So say that you don't, you know, get affected by long covid Or you don't develop cancer, you are going to age, and as you age, you are going to have ailments. You are going to become disabled. Those with disabilities are a part of the largest minority, because it is a minority that anyone can enter at any point in your life. And when lawmakers are discussing policy, I wish they would keep that in mind, that it can become them, it can become their grandchild. And I am somebody's daughter, I'm somebody's Aunt, I'm somebody's partner, and you are too. So when you're thinking about these policies, think about it for yourself, because you could become reliant on it, and life could happen. You know, you could have a car accident, anything's really possible, and we need to keep that in mind, that we need to take care of our people, because they're who takes care of us. So I think that's the biggest thing that I wish people understood

Chris Fitzsimon

Well. Thank you very much for sharing your story. We really appreciate it. Thank you, Emma,

Emma Widmar

thank you so much, Chris.

In a moment, we'll head over to Ohio. The U.S. Senators There have actually been celebrating the cuts, but according to a reporter from the Ohio capital journal, not many others are joining them. We'll be right back.

Chris Fitzsimon

Thanks for listening. Our first episode launches Friday, November 7. Subscribe now to stories from the States, a podcast from states newsroom. You.