More than 100 Medicaid supporters, including disabled people, their family members, caregivers and community allies rallied outside the Santee office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., on Wednesday.
The federally funded program provides health insurance to people with disabilities, children and people who meet certain income requirements. While cuts to Medicaid are not certain, many assume the $880 billion in cuts to programs overseen by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce outlined in the House budget resolution in February will impact the program.
Issa is one of 216 House Republicans who voted in favor of the resolution.
Organizers said the protest was part of California’s first statewide movement led by people with disabilities urging Congress not to cut Medicaid funding. The program is known as MediCal in California.
The group started their rally with a song.
"Tell the congressman, hands off Medicaid. Put away that cutting blade, hands off Medicaid," they sang.
A person working at the front desk Issa’s office told the group he and his staff were not in the office to speak to them, said Toni Saia, an associate professor of rehabilitation counseling at San Diego State University. Saia describes herself as "a proud disabled woman."
While she does not rely on Medicaid, she said she was at the rally to show her support for people who do.
"If we don't have Medicaid, it kills disabled people. This gives us access to in-home supports. The ability to get jobs, the ability to be active members of our community. So if funding is cut, that means we can no longer be in the community in a variety of ways. So we die. We go back to institutions," Saia said.
Saia said rally attendees left over a dozen letters for Issa to read that explain why Medicaid is important to them.
"People's lives are on the line. People's life quality is on the line. People are going to be forced to go back into institutions when the cuts take effect," said Diana Pastora Carson with Disability Voices United. "Some people say that we are overreacting, that we will wait and see what happens, but we don't have the luxury of waiting."
KPBS contacted Issa’s office for a reaction to the rally and received no response.
