We need an honest conversation about Medicaid & healthcare

By COUMBA KEBE
Guest Columnist

Over the past several months, while knocking on doors and speaking with residents across District 29, one topic keeps coming up: healthcare.

When I mention healthcare, people immediately start asking questions. Veterans ask how VA benefits interact with other programs. Hospital workers talk about the strain they are seeing inside their facilities. Families caring for aging parents want to know how they will afford long-term care. Parents of children with disabilities worry about what will happen when they are no longer able to provide care themselves.

What I hear most in these conversations is confusion. People know something is changing in our healthcare system in Indiana but often don’t know why or how.

Too often, the public conversation about Medicaid is reduced to talking points about “fraud, waste, and abuse.” We hear claims that individuals are gaming the system or that undocumented immigrants are draining public healthcare resources.

But as a public health professional who has worked in healthcare systems and policy for a decade, I can tell you that these narratives oversimplify the issue and distract from the real challenges.

Most Medicaid fraud occurs at the provider or system level through billing practices and oversight gaps, not from individual patients seeking care. Undocumented immigrants are also frequently blamed in these debates, but under federal law they generally do not qualify for federal public benefits such as Medicaid or SNAP.

Meanwhile, the real consequences of these policy debates are being felt by the most vulnerable members of our communities.

Medicaid plays a critical role in supporting seniors, people with disabilities, and families who rely on long-term services and supports. It also helps sustain healthcare providers, including hospitals, home care agencies, and community health organizations that serve large numbers of vulnerable residents.

When access becomes more difficult and systems become more complicated to navigate, the effects ripple far beyond individual patients. When our healthcare system is under pressure, it affects our workforce, our local economy, and the overall well-being of our community.

Healthcare providers face increasing strain. Families struggle to find care for aging loved ones or children with disabilities. Hospitals delay investments in equipment and staffing. In some cases, people leave the workforce entirely to care for family members when support services are unavailable.

Healthcare is not just a social service issue. It is a community stability issue.

Yet despite how deeply these issues affect our communities, there has been very little effort to educate the public about what these changes mean or how families can prepare.

That is why I have organized a community forum called “Medicaid and Aging in Place.”

The goal of the event is simple: to bring together experts who can help our community better understand recent policy changes, what they mean for seniors and families, and how people can navigate the current system.

Healthcare policy is often debated in political terms. But for families caring for aging parents, children with disabilities, or loved ones who rely on long-term care, these policies are not abstract. They shape daily life.

Healthcare access is not a political talking point. It is a basic human need, and our communities deserve policies that reflect that truth.

Coumba Kebe is a Democratic candidate for Indiana House District 29. You can learn about her campaign at KebeForIndiana.com.