RT @jbaileyky: .@KyPolicy Statement on Passage of Federal Budget and Tax Bill: . The passage of this bill is a shameful moment for our coun….

The report identified 338 such hospitals, 35 of which are in Kentucky. In other words, if Congress cuts Medicaid, for every 10 hospitals at risk of closure in the U.S., at least one would be in Kentucky.

To determine which hospitals are most at risk, researchers at UNC identified those in the top 10% of the country for receiving payments from Medicaid and those that finished the past three years with a negative operating margin.

Medicaid cuts put 35 rural Kentucky hospitals at risk of closing, more than any other state.

As KY's House delegation prepares to consider this bill, we urge the members to prioritize the vast majority of KYians and oppose cuts to vital health care, food assistance, and education programs that are crucial to our health and well-being and critical for our economy. 10/.

These tax cuts for the wealthy are so large, that despite unprecedented cuts to popular programs, Congress would still increase the U.S. debt by $3.3 trillion over ten years. 9/.

Instead of vital programs like these, huge additional tax cuts for the wealthy are the priority in this bill. In Kentucky, the wealthiest 1% will get $45,960 a year on average. The already-rich should hardly be the priority at a time when many Kentuckians are struggling. 8/.

Even more face lost food assistance because all states would be required, for the first time ever, to cover a portion of SNAP costs, pitting vital food assistance against investments in schools, health care, infrastructure and other needs. 7/.

In addition, 50,000 Kentuckians would be newly at risk of losing SNAP food assistance due to ineffective work reporting requirements. 6/.

An estimated 210,000 Kentuckians would lose health coverage through cuts to Medicaid, 133,000 of whom live in rural areas, which is more than any other state. An additional 47,000 would lose coverage from kynect and become uninsured. 5/.

But the Senate bill makes harmful cuts to both, ensuring that doctor visits and groceries will be more difficult to afford for far too many, while also threatening the very existence of many rural hospitals and grocery stores. 4/.

These programs are essential to better health and are especially necessary in a time of rising household costs. They inject tens of billions of dollars into the Kentucky economy each year, creating jobs at grocery stores, hospitals and health clinics. 3/.

One in three Kentuckians receive health coverage through Medicaid, including children, seniors, low-wage workers and people with disabilities. Similarly, 562,000 Kentuckians receive SNAP food assistance to help afford groceries. 2/.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed a massive budget and tax bill that will strip health care and food assistance from millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians, while ensuring the wealthiest households benefit from a bounty of new tax cuts. 1/.

RT @kyvoices4health: Call like your health depends on it! The Senate is rushing a bill that takes food and healthcare from millions, pushin….

RT @jesskleinky: The Senate bill would still push costs onto states for Snap - 5-15% based on a volatile indicator, payment error rates. Ba….

RT @avbanig: Kentucky Faces the Nation’s Highest Number of Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closure if Congress Cuts Medicaid - Kentucky Center f….

Read @jbaileyky's latest op-ed in the @KYLantern:

Eastern Kentucky miners fought and died to create a health care system in a region where the market never would have on its own. Now members of Congress threaten to take it away.

All of this in a state where fatality and injury rates already exceed the national average. Let this serve as your latest reminder to join a union when and if you can. When the laws won't protect workers, unions will.