Wednesday marked the 60th anniversary launch of Medicare and Medicaid. For some advocates, the date was bittersweet.
Linda Somo is the president of the Arizona Alliance of Retired Americans. Somo says she’s worried about how deep cuts to Medicaid will hurt Americans.
"They are programs that have saved the lives of millions of Americans and provided health care for the elderly, for disabled, for children, and for hardworking, low-income members of our nation," Somo said.
She says Trump administration tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans will set off billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
"Don't believe the hype that says, 'oh, we're not touching Medicaid, we're not touching Medicare, we're just eliminating waste, fraud and abuse,'" Somo said.
In Arizona, Medicaid is called AHCCCS and nearly 2 million Arizonans rely on this program for their health care. AHCCCS also covers the cost of half of all births in the state.
