For the longest time, I've watched the state erode services to the poorest, more vulnerable people in my community. Leading my busy life, working two jobs and going to school, I rationalized my disinterest. I don't have time to attend meetings. I don't have time to get political. I don't have the clout to effect any changes.
However, today, as my coworkers and I read the proposed deepest round of cuts, I am simultaneous appalled at the potential implications to families all over the state and to our state's economic recovery for years to come.
Previously, I didn't think these cuts would affect me. Today, I got a harsh walk-up call. The proposed change will affect me and every person in this state if the legislature cuts health care and social programs to the level they propose. It will cause irreparable economic and medical harm to thousands of people. It will affect our co-workers, friends and family. It will be many, many years before our state will recover from these cuts, if it ever can.
Myth: Cuts in health care don't affect me.
Truth: Cuts in health care affect all of us, if we’re on AHCCCS/KidsCare or not. If you know a person who works for the state’s AHCCCS office and he or she still has a job, that might not be so in the coming months. The House and Senate appropriations committees passed bills today to eliminate Medicaid for 310,000 individuals on Jan. 1, 2011. About 45,000 children will lose health care under the elimination of KidsCare on April 1. We’re talking about health care for people who have lost jobs or have chronic health problems.
Myth: None of my family or friends are on AHCCCS or KidsCare or work for those agencies. That won’t affect me.
Truth: It is easy to think if this doesn’t directly affect you, it doesn’t affect you. Where do people without health care get health services? Perhaps the county health department? Will the county have to increase property tax revenue to take care of this growing population? And if they don’t get preventative care, they end up in the emergency room for any care.
Even with its newly expanded facilities, this is a burden that Yavapai Regional Medical Center cannot bear. It will treat people on an emergency basis, people who cannot afford to pay for their care. Then who pays? We do. All of us are truly affect when people don’t get timely, appropriate health care.
By the way, when I do have an emergency, I’d like to be treated quickly, which won’t happen when my emergency room is full of people who could have been treated by a doctor.
Myth: I just don’t get sick very often. I don’t own property. This really doesn’t affect me.
Truth: Some people will say anything to avoid dealing with reality, so let’s just suppose this is true. You get your annual physical, you get great preventative care, so you aren’t chronically sick or in need of the hospital. Congratulations. So when all these people who now don’t have health care don’t visit your doctor, who will he or she treat? When your doctor decides to roll up the carpet and move to a state that appropriately funds health care, you will be affected.
Myth: Perhaps the health care cuts are too drastic, but I’m not affected by cuts in mental health services, child or adult protective services, domestic violence services or juvenile corrections.
Truth: There are far too many ostriches in Arizona who will claim the plethora of cuts don’t affect the majority of Arizonans. All of these cuts mean loss of jobs for thousands of people, and loss of services for the most vulnerable in our midst. Those cuts will affect everyone, since these are our employees and our customers.
Eliminate mental health services to 36,500 people and even more people with mental health crisis will end up in emergency rooms. They will commit crimes and inflict family violence. Thousands will lose their jobs at West Yavapai Guidance Clinic and similar agencies all over the state. All this has a financial and societal cost.
Eliminating state juvenile corrections will bring youths with behavioral and criminal patterns back to our communities, giving our local leaders the choice to release them or raise tax funds to incarcerate them. Holding them will require more property tax money, while releasing them will reduce safety and security in our schools and communities.
As for me, I would prefer to take a small sales tax increase to provide services to vulnerable adults and children in systems that already exist. Some people need continual assistance for basic services. Some people use these services temporarily while they get back on their feet. Society needs others to have these services to maintain stability and control. Eliminating these services won’t affect just the hundreds of thousands of Arizonans on the edge medically, emotionally and economically, it will add tens of thousands of people who now have jobs in these human services, worsening an economic downward spiral that will affect every Arizona business and government agency.
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