I used to think politics didn’t have much to do with me.
I was just a home care provider in Bakersfield, doing my job, caring for my clients, trying to make ends meet.
But one evening, I walked into a UDW meeting, and the room was packed. Wall-to-wall with care workers, all buzzing with the same disbelief: Congressmember David Valadao, along with 218 other Republicans, had just voted to cut $880 billion from Medicaid, the very program that keeps our clients safe and allows us to do this work. And all to give tax breaks to billionaires while the rest of us are told to make do with less.
That’s when it hit me: this isn’t just politics. This is about me. About us. It’s deeply personal.
That meeting was the spark. It was the moment I realized that those in power are counting on us to stay quiet.
But we won’t.
The spoiled representatives who voted to gut Medicaid proved they don’t care what millions of ordinary Americans experience every day.
Medicaid keeps our program alive. Medicaid funding is directly tied to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program that pays more than 750,000 providers across California for doing this invaluable work. It keeps our clients safe at home with access to vital care, improving their quality of life, while also making sure that care providers are paid so that they can afford to do their important work. In other words, Medicaid cuts directly impact our livelihoods.
Here’s what that vote actually means for our communities:
Over 2,300 IHSS providers and their clients in my district could lose critical hours of care or lose services altogether. That means fewer paid hours for caregivers, and clients left without help to eat, bathe, or stay safely at home.
Millions of people—especially seniors and people with disabilities—could lose coverage entirely or face more red tape just to keep basic care. That means more clients without services, and more unpaid labor for providers like us.
Clinics, nursing homes, and rural hospitals that we depend on will be forced to shut their doors—leaving entire communities without care, and workers without jobs.
States would be forced to slash services or find new funding fast. Either way, caregivers and low-income families get stuck with the fallout.
Medicaid covers half of all births in California. These cuts would hit women and children hardest—ripping away prenatal care, pediatric visits, and safe deliveries.
The administration calls it “fiscal responsibility,” but we know better: “fiscal responsibility” means stealing from the poor to give to the rich and then blaming the poor for being robbed.
As home care providers, we stretch our hours. We do unpaid work. We keep people alive while the people in charge sleep under satin sheets and eat expensive steaks. They knew exactly who they were hurting, and they did it anyway. All under the ruse of saving Americans money, when really, that money is going straight into the pockets of billionaires and corrupt politicians.
This wasn’t just one representative. Every politician who voted for this bill failed us. Failed our clients. Failed rural counties. Failed communities across the country.
Politicians like David Valadao are hoping we’ll be too tired to remember their betrayal by the time the worst of its effects hit.
But we won’t forget.
We want truthful, capable leaders who can solve complex problems humanely. Leaders who make our communities safe and able to thrive. To live in peace.
We know our vote is our power—and we’ll make sure we use it.
Emily Stinnet is a home care provider in Kern County.