Gov. Pritzker Joins Community Meeting on Protecting Medicaid During Standing Up for Illinois Tour
March 21, 2025
PEORIA- Today, as part of his Standing Up for Illinois Tour, Governor Pritzker attended a community meeting where Care Can’t Wait, local advocates, providers, and patients shared their stories on the importance of protecting Medicaid and the negative impact cuts would have on their lives. The community meeting was held at EP!C, a service center that provides educational, residential, employment, and clinical support to people with intellectual or physical disabilities – many of whom rely on Medicaid for healthcare.
“Illinois is doing all we can to bolster access to healthcare –expanding access and simplifying enrollment, investing in healthcare infrastructure, erasing hundreds of millions of dollars in medical debt, and taking on predatory practices in the insurance and pharmaceutical industries,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “From day one, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Congressional Republicans – in their crusade to give massive tax cuts to the wealthy – have put working Illinoisans’ healthcare on the chopping block. I’m proud to be here alongside Illinois doctors, patients, advocates, and healthcare workers – standing up for Medicaid in Illinois.”
"The federal government continues to turn their backs on all but the wealthiest people in America. I'm furious the Trump administration is working overtime to strip away healthcare from over 3 million Illinoisans, 1 million of them being children," said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. "No matter what, we're standing up to make sure you know we will not sit by and watch your healthcare be stripped away without a fight."
Governor Pritzker listened to the personal testimonies of providers, home care aides, family members who provide care, as well as people with disabilities advocating for themselves to continue to receive comprehensive care through Medicaid. These stories included:
- Testimony of time spent as a home care aid for seniors made possible from Medicaid funding and coverage via the ACA expansion.
- Experiences as a home childcare provider and retired union member who relies on Medicare and Medicaid to cover medical bills.
- Discussion of the experience of serving as a self-advocate while a resident of a developmental center.
- The challenges faced by parents of children with profound developmental disabilities.
The individuals who told their stories in the listening session all underscored that cuts to Medicaid would severely limit their ability to access or provide necessary care. One in four Illinoisans, over 3.4 million people, receive healthcare coverage through Medicaid and are at risk of losing access or seeing their premiums increase under proposed Republican cuts. This includes coverage for nearly half the state’s children and many people with disabilities and those living in senior or long-term care facilities.
Governor Pritzker has made affordable and accessible healthcare a priority since taking office in 2019, eliminating the Medicaid backlog, passing the Healthcare Protection Act to stop predatory insurance practices, expanding Medicaid access and coverage, erasing hundreds of millions of dollars in medical debt, and investing in safety net and rural health systems. In addition to the need for affordable healthcare, Medicaid funds hospital systems that provide nearly half a million jobs across the state—often serving as the main employer in rural areas. Cuts to Medicaid would not only devastate those in need of care but would gut the local economies that depend on this funding for the jobs it provides the community.
Governor Pritzker is traveling across the state on the Standing Up for Illinois Tour to shed light on how the Trump Administration’s extreme agenda is hurting working families, farmers, veterans, seniors, and other Illinoisans. The tour will show the harmful impacts on people when Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Republicans in Congress take a chainsaw to healthcare, childcare, infrastructure, Social Security, and other critical services that help working families– all to give a tax break to their wealthy friends. Throughout the tour, Governor Pritzker will showcase how strong, responsible fiscal leadership has enabled Illinois to achieve balanced budgets and economic growth while supporting working families.
“We are here because Medicaid is a lifeline for 80 million people across this country. It’s about healthcare, jobs, and, for so many, survival. As Congress pushes for cuts, people from Georgia to Michigan, Illinois to California are coming together to say: We won't stand for it," said Ai-jen Poo, Executive Director of Caring Across Generations and President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. “Because behind every dollar they try to take away is a mother, a loved one, a neighbor—a human being whose care is essential. This is about coming together with champions like Governor Pritzker and raising our voices as one: Medicaid isn’t just policy—it’s life or death for millions, and we refuse to let it be stripped away.”
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