VWC member Griffin Shumway was interviewed for a Feb. 1st Valley News story on the Medicaid cutoffs. Read the full story here; excerpts below.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Tens of thousands of residents in Vermont and New Hampshire could lose their health care coverage under Medicaid as the eligibility requirements return to pre-pandemic rules.
That includes Griffin Shumway, a 33-year-old middle school teacher who lives in White River Junction, who says he’s anxious about the change, which will be implemented gradually and give those whose income qualifies a chance to continue their coverage. Shumway, who was laid off from a job at Dartmouth College in 2020 and subsequently earned a teaching certificate at the Upper Valley Educators Institute, said he is concerned that losing his Medicaid coverage will make it harder to get the care he needs at an affordable price.
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For his part, Shumway, who is working with a group called the Nonviolent Medicaid Army, a multi-state initiative that is coordinated in Vermont by the Vermont Workers’ Center, hopes that this Medicaid change will inspire a broader conversation about how health care costs are covered.
“I along with folks across the state are getting together to talk to (ask) the question about universal health care,” he said. “… Why don’t we have it?”