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Rachel Gershon

@otherrbg.bsky.social
121 followers 336 following 78 posts

Lawyer and Medicaid/Medicare/SNAP/SSI nerd. I've helped people navigate health insurance and public benefits since 2004. We need to make it easier. Views my own.

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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
National Immigration Law Center @nilc.org · 09/06/2026
More patients are arriving at health care facilities accompanied by ICE or CBP officers, forcing medical staff to navigate difficult situations. 🧵Learn how medical staff can: - Protect patient rights - Prioritize emergency care - Ensure patients can communicate about care, and more
Title reads "Advocating for Patients in Immigration Custody: A Resource for Health Care Providers & Medical Staff." The text highlights guidance for medical workers caring for patients with ICE or CBP officers present. A medical worker in scrubs and a mask adjusts headwear. The NILC logo is in the corner.The image is a poster with text discussing the challenges hospitals face due to "Trump's mass deportation agenda." It mentions patients arriving in custody of ICE or U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The poster highlights the need for medical staff to navigate situations involving legal rights, emergency care, and patient communication. It includes a section labeled "Scenario-Based Scripts" and a disclaimer about the informational purpose. The NILC logo is at the bottom right.
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Justice in Aging @justiceinaging.org · 05/12/2025
170,000 Americans are at risk of losing their homes under a plan to cut the federal government’s largest homeless assistance program. 📢 Take action by reminding lawmakers that older adults in your community rely on these programs to keep a roof over their heads.
to.justiceinaging.org
Act Now to Save Housing for Older Adults
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is moving to gut funding for permanent supportive housing (PSH), putting more than 170,000 people –
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Justice in Aging @justiceinaging.org · 18/11/2025
Imagine your patient shows up at her cardiologist in January only to learn her Medicare Advantage plan no longer covers that doctor. Plans change their provider networks every year, so it's essential to review your coverage during Medicare open enrollment, happening now through December 7.
justiceinaging.org
Open Enrollment for 2026 Coverage through Medicare & the Marketplace—Basics for Advocates - Justice in Aging
Learn about the Medicare and Marketplace Open Enrollment Periods (OEPs) for the 2026 plan year and get tips for choosing affordable coverage options for older adults.
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 15/11/2025
You were incredible, Alice Wong, and it was a blessing to have collaborated with you on projects, to have read your words and to have heard your voice, as full of life and passion and joy and rage as it was. You made a difference—so much of a difference. Rest always in peace, and always in power.

This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. 

Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing.

Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin.
We need more stories about us and our culture.
You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 15/11/2025
‘Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, & full of love.’ —Alice Wong
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
No one should go hungry. SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) is a particularly powerful program for making lives better:
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Edwin Park @edwincpark.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
One more thread on a new provision in Senate reconciliation bill that Senate GOP will misleadingly tout as expanding access to home- and community-based services for seniors and people with disabilities (section 71123) but in context of the bill, it won't be meaningful (1/x)
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Seven ways that the reconciliation bill will harm older adults: #Medicaid #Reconciliation #OBBB
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
The reconciliation bill currently in the Senate will penalize people for having disabilities, for caregiving for loved ones, and for losing their jobs. Here are two stories of where these policies already caused stress and disability. #Medicaid #JobLossPenalty
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Amber Christ @amberchrist.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Losing Medicaid's financial assistance & the cascading consequences of that loss, is just one of the myriad of ways in which, as @otherrbg.bsky.social states, the reconciliation bill finds "savings built on the backs of seniors and people with disabilities." news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-a...
news.bloomberglaw.com
‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Threatens Medicare, Medicaid Enrollees
Nearly 1.4 million medically fragile, low-income dual Medicare and Medicaid enrollees could find it harder to retain a valuable prescription drug subsidy if the Republican House reconciliation bill be...
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
They say never read the comments, but the responses to this piece underline just how difficult it is for people to maintain access to health insurance in America even before the GOP makes it even harder.
@Mike James Anyone who actually knows people who need Medicaid (not Medicare) and can't work knows that they often have a lot of trouble dealing with the paperwork and understaffed Medicaid offices. My own son, who had a severe mental disability in another city, went without Medicaid for long periods because he could not handle the paperwork. He couldn't keep jobs because of his condition, although to outer appearance he was "able-bodied." He got on Medicaid when he was taken by EMS workers to an emergency room and they signed him up. Later he lost it, until another EMS-assisted visit to the ER. He died at the age of 39 because of a cardiovascular condition that should have been caught years ago. Republican lawmakers are soulless enablers of tyranny wearing crosses while passing laws allowing millions to die.The eligible people who get kicked off because of paperwork will get not only sick, but sicker. They then end up in the ER, and possibly ICU, costing MORE money. I have a 50-year old disabled son who is on Medicaid and is able to work because as a cashier ($9.50per hour) because of corrective lenses provided by Medicaid. Because of seizure medication and a primary care physician and regular annual check-ups, he doesn’t visit the ER. Even with the current streamed-down paperwork, he needs help completing it. This possibility of increased paperwork makes me sick.As a nurse practitioner and primary care provider at a clinic with mostly Medicaid patients, I’d like to personally thank the U.S. congress for increasing exponentially the amount of paperwork in my life. 

Already burdened with completing 8-page forms to confirm patients qualify for food stamps, and now likely hundreds of additional forms confirming, or not confirming, that patients are able to work? More foolish politics fueling clinician burn out. Retirement (or just finding a new population to work with) can’t come soon enough.
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Natalie Kean @nataliekean.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
The invoice for the very bad deal. Call Congress before they vote to send the bill for their tax giveaways to seniors and other low-income people who rely on Medicaid and SNAP.
linkedin.com
Take from the poor, give to the rich. CBO distributional analysis of… | Jennifer Lav
Take from the poor, give to the rich. CBO distributional analysis of reconciliation bill lays it out. Those are decreases in household resources due to Medicaid and SNAP cuts for the lowest income 1...
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
The CBO finds that if the Reconciliation Bill goes through: -7.6 million people would lose coverage because of Medicaid changes -1 million would lose it because of changes to the ACA from E&C -2.1 million would lose it because of changes by Ways and Means www.cbo.gov/publication/...
cbo.gov
Estimated Budgetary Effects of a Bill to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of H. Con. Res. 14, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Budget on May 18, 2025
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Edwin Park @edwincpark.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Budget reconciliation SNAP cuts shift large costs to states at same time state use of provider taxes will be restricted and make it more difficult to finance states’ share of #Medicaid costs. States have to balance their budgets so inevitable result will be severe cuts to SNAP and Medicaid.
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Ty Jones Cox @tyjonescox.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
The House Ag bill released tonight would take away or cut #SNAP food benefits for millions of low-income people struggling to afford groceries—families w/ children, seniors, ppl w/ disabilities, veterans & workers in low-wage jobs.
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Natalie Kean @nataliekean.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
And we expect the Energy & Commerce Committee to repeal #Medicaid rules that will take cost-sharing assistance from ~1.4 million people with Medicare, making it unaffordable for low-income seniors & people with disabilities to see the doctor or meet their basic needs. #ProtectMedicaid
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Natalie Kean @nataliekean.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Make no mistake: Republicans in Congress are coming after #Medicare too! The legislative text they will consider next week would strip Medicare coverage from immigrants who have been living, working, and paying taxes in the U.S. for decades.
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Imagine working 90 hours in a month and still losing Medicaid due to work requirements.
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Work requirements cut Medicaid for working people. Work requirements cut Medicaid for parents and caregivers. Work requirements cut Medicaid for people with disabilities and chronic conditions. #Medicaid
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Justice in Aging @justiceinaging.org · 02/04/2025
Breaking: Today, we filed a lawsuit against the Social Security Administration and DOGE for creating roadblocks that prevent Americans from getting their retirement and disability benefits. 🧵Thread
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Amber Christ @amberchrist.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Today, we filed a lawsuit against Social Security to ensure 73 million people have access to the benefits they are entitled to. People rely on their benefits to pay for housing, food, and basic needs, and SSA is also responsible for facilitating access to Medicare & Medicaid. Read more 👇
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Medicaid improves financial well-being #medicaid
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Medicaid improves education outcomes - a story in 2 studies. #Medicaid
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Medicaid saves lives - a story in two studies. #medicaid
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) @autisticadvocacy.org · 18/03/2025
Unable to speak on a phone call due to a disability? Our Proxy Calling system is open for today’s call-in! Want to help someone else make a call? Consider signing up to be a proxy caller.
proxycaller.org
Proxy Caller Project
Many disabled people in the U.S. can’t make phone calls because of disability. Our Congress members unfairly prioritize phone calls over emails or letters—but all of us deserve to be heard. The…
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Amber Christ @amberchrist.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Work requirements are fundamentally flawed policy. Every study shows that they 1) kick eligible people off Medicaid; 2) cost a ton to administer & 3) do not increase work. It's a policy intentionally designed to strip people of coverage while giving lawmakers a facade of acting in good faith.
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
A couple of Georgia examples of individuals who could not get health care because of work requirements:
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Evidence from Arkansas’ 2018 Medicaid work requirements suggest that a significant number of working people lost coverage when the program was paused.
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
After Arkansas' experience with Medicaid work requirements (18,000 losing coverage), New Hampshire was determined to do better. They vowed have better media, better notices, better pathways to regain coverage. The result? 17,000 were set to lose coverage when New Hampshire paused work requirements
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
Seven reasons why a cut to Medicaid is a cut to Medicare:
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Reposted by Rachel Gershon
Amber Christ @amberchrist.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
The Congressional Budget Office confirms that the only way to cut $880B is by cutting Medicaid. And the only way to cut that much from Medicaid is by stripping coverage & access from millions of older adults & other low-income Americans. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
washingtonpost.com
GOP must cut Medicaid or Medicare to achieve budget goals, CBO finds
The nonpartisan bookkeeper said there’s no other way to cut $1.5 trillion from the budget over the next decade.
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Amber Christ @amberchrist.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Thirty percent of Medicaid funding supports Medicare enrollees. When you cut Medicaid, you cut Medicare. Read more in our @justiceinaging.org factsheet and issue brief with @medicarerights.bsky.social, Center for Medicare Advocacy, & @communitycatalyst.org. justiceinaging.org/a-cut-to-med...
justiceinaging.org
A Cut to Medicaid is a Cut to Medicare - Justice in Aging
Without Medicaid, 12 million Medicare enrollees could not access the care they need.
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Amber Christ @amberchrist.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
On this point, Republican lawmakers are asking for assurances that Medicaid won't be cut from leadership. But those assurances can't be made because - for those in the back - there is no way for E&C to cut $880B & not cut Medicaid. So if you're "assured" it's because you're disregarding reality.
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Amber Christ @amberchrist.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Republican lawmakers are considering $880B in cuts to Medicaid. This would result in 56% of older adults losing coverage. That's 4.7 million seniors! Call your lawmakers and demand they not cut Medicaid. (202) 224-3121 #HandsOffMedicaid
Trump budget proposes up to $880B in Medicaid cuts which translates to the cost of covering 4.7 million older people or 56% of older people with Medicaid.
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Justice in Aging @justiceinaging.org · 19/02/2025
🚨Action Alert! 🚨 Congress is planning to fast-track a vote on Medicaid cuts next week. Tell Congress to reject any budget that uses Medicaid funds as a piggy bank to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. Call 866-426-2631 to reach your member of Congress.
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Amber Christ @amberchrist.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
"Valadao & Malliotakis - both of whom represent districts with a significant % of Medicaid recipients said that they are withholding support from the budget resolution as they seek more information on the severity of the cuts and how they could impact their constituents" thehill.com/newsletters/...
thehill.com
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Matthew Cortland (they) @matthewcort.land · 14/02/2025
Tomorrow, I'm doing a webinar for clinicians who want to advocate for Medicaid with their federal elected leaders, as Medicaid faces existential threats. Clinicians are some of the best possible advocates for Medicaid, and I am really, really good at this. We won't waste your time. 🧵
patreon.com
2/15 at 4PM ET: Congressional Medicaid Advocacy Webinar For Clinicians | Matthew Cortland
Get more from Matthew Cortland on Patreon
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Rachel Gershon @otherrbg.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Medicaid cuts hurt seniors - we know that it's true. By funding care and fighting disease, three in ten Medicaid dollars support Medicare enrollees. justiceinaging.org/cutting-medi... #healthpolicyvalentine
justiceinaging.org
Cutting Medicaid Harms Older Adults No Matter How It’s Sliced - Justice in Aging
This fact sheet explains how Medicaid “reforms” being considered are all cuts that harm older adults. Whether the cuts come in the form of red tape such as work requirements and stricter eligibility r...
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Natalie Kean @nataliekean.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Work requirements are red tape. Red tape = cuts. Seniors will be harmed. Many older adults who aren't yet eligible for Medicare would be uninsured if not for #Medicaid. They have Medicaid because their employers don't offer health insurance, they have been laid off... (1/3)
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