Hello, I'm Sandra Victorova.

Thank you for being here.

Well, people who depend on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are voicing concerns that the ongoing cuts to the federal government will impact their lives.

The message in white House statements president Donald Trump will not cut Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security.

It is the same message that we heard repeatedly from the president himself on the campaign trail.

However, the Department of Government Efficiency, or dosage has targeted Social Security for billions of dollars in cuts, with presidential adviser Elon Musk calling Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.

Already, thousands of employees in the Social Security Administration have been fired and dozens of offices have been closed or are scheduled to be closed.

As Teddy Byrne reports, recipients around the country are voicing their concerns, fearing cuts to their benefits could be on the horizon.

The threat to Social Security right now is very real.

Former Social Security commissioner under the Biden administration, Martin O'Malley, recently traveled across Florida to raise concerns about the DOJ's led changes to Social Security.

At a stop in Naples.

The former governor of Maryland spoke to a packed house.

Southwest Floridians voiced their uneasiness regarding the program's future, as O'Malley issued warnings about the gutting of the SSA.

The agency is being dismantled at a time when it's already been made very vulnerable due to its staffing reduced to a 50 year low.

So they the way they're driving knowledgeable people out of that agency is already creating much higher wait times.

There's already more people dying waiting for initial disability determinations than ever before in the history of the program.

And that's, going to go up as well.

The agency supports 73 million people across the country, not just retirees, but those with qualifying disabilities, widows or widows and orphans.

The Social Security Administration has already announced changes to their identity verification procedures, which includes limiting most services that can be done over the phone.

Another proposal would cut off payments for people without Social Security numbers, which could lead to over 170,000 people losing their benefits, many of those being retirees and low income individuals.

Social security is the greatest anti-poverty program that we've ever enacted as a people.

We did it after the Great Depression, and it was intended to make sure that nobody worked hard their whole life ever has to live out their last years in poverty.

And, so we need to defend it.

For WGCU news, I'm Teddy Byrne.

They contribute In addition to the downsizing efforts at the Social Security Administration, the Trump White House is looking at massive overhauls to Medicaid.

House Republicans want to cut $880 billion from the program over the next decade.

An estimated 72 million people rely on Medicaid, like Stephanie Norden in Naples, her teenage twin sons have autism.

She says Medicaid covers important care, like behavioral and speech therapies that she couldn't get otherwise.

And she says their round the clock care allows her to work.

She knows there could be room for making the system more efficient, but she says she's worried about critical care being cut to her sons and families like hers.

As a parent of somebody with developmental disabilities.

My number one pressing question since diagnosis is what's going to happen to them when I die?

The concern is at the max level, because I want to make sure that these children, who will then turn into adults, have the support they need when I'm not here.

I am very concerned.

I am worried about the lack of clarity in these cuts and concern that if there aren't people at the table that understand how complex this is and how needed it is, then.

The expression is that they'll throw the baby out with the bathwater.

We are now joined by Laura Harker, a senior policy analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonprofit think tank which studies Medicaid benefits and funding.

So, Laura, thank you for joining us.

We appreciate it.

Thank you for having me.

So I want to start with the basics here.

Who benefits from Medicaid in the state of Florida in terms of people and services?

Yes.

Medicaid covers many people in the state of Florida, almost 4 million people.

So about 1 in 5 residents in the state gets their health coverage through Medicaid.

And it's really important in terms of access to care for people with lower incomes who may not be able to afford health care without Medicaid.

And that also helps to infuse the health care system with more money, as those people who otherwise may not have had coverage are able to go see doctors and health care providers.

So we haven't seen the details on the potential $880 billion in Medicaid cuts.

Excuse me.

What areas are most at risk, you think to be cut?

Yes.

The cuts are very large that are being proposed and would have impacts across the Medicaid program.

We're hearing a lot about changing the way the program is funded.

For example, right now it's a state and federal partnership.

So the federal government kicks in about 57% of the cost of funding the Medicaid program, and the state kicks in that remaining 43%.

And the proposals at play would potentially shift a lot more cost to the state by changing the amount of funding that the federal government provides to states to serve people enrolled in Medicaid.

And that's something that would be a burden on states.

They would have to figure out how to respond to that.

It would most likely force the state to cut Medicaid benefits or eligibility, meaning people could lose coverage.

People could lose access to important services that are considered optional, like prescription drug coverage or dental or vision coverage if they have it.

So these are all real risk that people would face as a result of some of these cuts.

Most people may think, well, I'm not on Medicaid.

Maybe they don't have a loved one on Medicaid.

Why should the rest of us care if we're really not directly impacted by Medicaid?

Yeah, I think that there's also some polling and research that does show many people.

Most people have some connection, either having been on Medicaid before or currently or knowing someone.

But even if you don't know someone, the fact that Medicaid is such a large insurance program and that covers so many people and states, it allows hospitals to stay open.

There's a lot of research about how Medicaid helps to support providers and their revenues, and allows them to do more because they're getting paid for services they otherwise might not have been paid for.

And so that is something that makes sure those facilities are available for everyone and keeps those strong for anyone, whether they are on Medicaid or not.

Laura, if I can end on seniors, we know a lot of seniors depend on Medicaid, for instance, to get, home nursing care.

What are your concerns as far as quality of care or even access to care for seniors?

Yes.

Medicaid is really important in helping seniors pay for what we call long term care.

So that's typically nursing home care.

Or it could be home and care in the home for seniors.

And Medicaid is for the largest payer of those types of services.

So Medicaid fills in some of the gaps that Medicare.

So Medicare being the program for people over 65, but some people are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, which is really more focused on people with lower incomes.

And Medicaid fills in by covering those services, that they wouldn't be able to get through Medicare.

So that would be something to really focus on in terms of seniors and their access to the care they need.

Medicaid is also really important for seniors, especially seniors who may not have as many assets or as many, larger or as much income.

Medicaid really fills in the gaps for them.

Laura Harker, we thank you so much for your time.

Thank you.

Thank you.