1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I’m a Texas mental health provider with over 20 years in the Medicaid system. I’ve been through multiple nightmares trying to navigate it—battling red tape, losing months of income, even losing my own health care because I wasn’t paid for the work I was doing. It has taken a serious toll on my health, my finances, and my ability to keep showing up. But what worries me most right now is my patients. They rely on Medicaid—not because they’re lazy or undeserving, but because it’s their lifeline. And when they get care, they’re better able to be active, contributing members of their families and communities. Sometimes that means holding a job. Sometimes it means caring for a loved one. Sometimes it means just staying stable enough to survive. But the care they receive matters—not just to them, but to the world around them. The system is already dysfunctional—but the proposed cuts will take it from broken to catastrophic. This isn’t just about trimming budgets. These cuts would mean hospital closures, fewer providers, longer waits, and a collapse in access that affects everyone, not just the poorest Texans. As more people lose coverage, emergency rooms get overwhelmed, private insurance premiums go up, and employers struggle with rising healthcare costs. That will hit the middle class hard. It will hit rural areas harder. And it will cost more in the long run—both in dollars and in lives. Texas already spends more per patient than most countries and has worse health outcomes. That is a national embarrassment. I would sit down with any of you, any day, and explain what it’s like to work in this system. But right now, I am begging you: do not let this bill pass. We cannot afford to make a bad system worse. Protect Medicaid—not just for those who need it most, but for the health of our entire state.