Locals rally, petition for health care expansion

A group of about 75 Bloomington residents held picket signs and posters in support of Medicaid expansion Saturday outside the Monroe County Courthouse.

One poster read “Pence punishes the poor,” while another said “Health care Reform — we’re not done yet.”

Two petitions, one directed to Rep. Todd Young, R-9th District, and the other to Gov.-elect Mike Pence, were passed around for members of the crowd to sign.

The rally was organized by Milton Fisk, director of the local chapter of Jobs with Justice, a national network aiming to increase power for working people and address the causes of problems facing workers and communities. Fisk is also an IU professor emeritus of philosophy.

The national branch of Jobs with Justice recently encouraged all local chapters to have protests against any austerity measures of interest to the community, Fisk said. Rather than protest general austerity, Fisk said he chose to focus on Medicaid expansion.

“The issue of Medicaid seemed of most local interest because Indiana has such a horrible Medicaid system,” Fisk said.

Sen.-elect Mark Stoops, D-Bloomington and two others also spoke at the rally. Afterwards, a group of about 20 participants marched to Young’s office at the Showers Building, 401 N. Morton St., to present the petition.

After realizing the doors to Young’s office were locked, the group unsuccessfully attempted to enter the building through the City Hall entrance. They found no way to connect to Young’s office.

“(The rally) sort of disappeared when we found out we couldn’t get into Todd’s office,” Fisk said.

In the petition to Young, citizens encouraged the congressman to stand firm against federal pressures by the U.S. Congress “to limit the availability of basic health care to people whose income is at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.”

The group made similar requests in a petition for Pence, with an added focus on Medicaid in Indiana.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, states have the option not to expand Medicaid coverage, according to the Medicaid government website.

“Indiana hasn’t decided yet, but Pence has made quite a bit of noise hinting that they’re not going to do the expansion,” said Dr. Rob Stone, one of the speakers at the rally. “At the Indiana level, let’s expand. At the federal level, let’s not contract.”

Stone is the director of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan and has been a  doctor at IU Health Bloomington Hospital for nearly three decades.

Stone said the Medicaid coverage legislation is of major concern to the hospital.

“The hospital takes care of lots of uninsured people,” Stone said. “The Indiana hospitals need this money. Hospitals have talked about laying people off.”

Fisk said Pence has suggested plans to hold out for expansion of the state’s current Healthy Indiana Plan. According to the Indiana Medicaid website, the plan covers individuals who do not live with a dependent child and parents who earn up to approximately $44,000 annually for a family of four, have been uninsured for six months and do not have access to insurance through their employer.

“That program could not come anywhere near to covering the number of people that need health care at the lower income level,” Fisk said. “That’s why we’re pushing.”
The state’s expansion of Medicaid is a pressing issue for local non-profits as well.

One rally participant, Toby Strout, is the executive director of Middle Way House, a Bloomington nonprofit that works with women coping in the aftermath of domestic violence.

Middle Way House helps these women gain employment. But with low Medicaid coverage, this income increase could mean a loss of essential medical care, Strout said.

“Once they begin earning a ridiculously low amount of money, they lose their Medicaid,” Strout said. “If they lose their Medicaid, they lose their prescriptions. They lose their ability to work, so they don’t end up making any money.”