Rev. Shavon Arline-Bradley

The Impact of Medicaid Unwinding and Reduction of Access to Affordable Healthcare for Black Women & Families

President & CEO, National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)

In 2024, war has been declared against Black women. We are strong willed, educated, and carry the world on our shoulders; we are a force to be reckoned with. This did not just happen in 2024, but since the start of civilization. Because of this, the world wants to make sure we do not have all those things that ensure we are made whole - health, wealth, and dignity.

Everyone knows the saying, “if you have your health, you have everything.” I believe this wholeheartedly. Being in good health allows one to live a comfortable life by being able to earn a decent wage to support one’s family, while enjoying those extras in life that allow one to live life and not life to live them. While we have safety nets such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Healthcare Marketplace mandated by the Affordable Care Act, as well as employer health insurance, social and political determinants still impact healthcare. These determinants are based on zip code, education, and employment to name a few; creating an ecosystem that dictates our life cycle. Where you live, work, worship, and play all impact your experience with health in this country. With Medicaid unwinding and the reduction of access to affordable healthcare for Black women and their families, we know that policies continue to be enacted that disregard these very social determinants more times than not. According to KFF, “between 8 million and 24 million people will lose Medicaid coverage during the unwinding of the continuous enrollment provision” (Tolbert & Ammula, 2023). Overall, it is believed that racism is the main factor why healthcare is not affordable and often subpar for Black women and their families as claimed by this very research.

One of the most unprecedented political healthcare discussions we have seen has been about the autonomy and agency of women to make decisions for their bodies. The conversation for Black women is not abortion, but reproductive access, saving Black women’s lives in childbirth, and healthcare access. When we see a Black mother not being believed about her pre-labor pains it can result in the death of a child and/or the mother. Black lives are not deemed important due to prejudice and we cannot afford to be silent.

Healthcare is a billion-dollar industry and along the way we have sacrificed the patient protection approach to the work in exchange for big profits. In this fight, the Black community has “lost the game” around issues on health disparities and health inequities. How do we make change? By creating opportunities for more Black women at the political table because we have an innate nature to make sure that everyone has a voice. Understand, I wholeheartedly believe with Black women leading the charge, we can get back to addressing this issue. This can be done through advocating for the standardization of the unwinding and re-enrollment process on the state level for Medicaid and partnering with community-based health centers and organizations that understand and provide stellar functionality and patient care. Black women can and will always stand on the side of people, not policies and paperwork. The question is, will our country stand with us?

References

Tolbert, J., & Ammula, M. (2023, August 23). 10 Things to Know About the Unwinding of the Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Provision. KFF. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/10-things-to-know-about-the-unwinding-of-the-medicaid-continuous-enrollment-provision/