WASHINGTON, DC – In an interview with MSNBC’s Ana Cabrera, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford shares his personal story as a single father who depended on Medicaid and SNAP in order to survive and raise his son. AG Ford condemns Republican lawmakers’ blind allegiance to the Trump-backed bill that could rip healthcare away from at least 17 million Americans, and around 100,000+ Nevadans.

“I was a single father in college raising my son having depend upon Medicaid and…depending on food stamps and Medicaid in order to get by,” AG Ford shared. “So I have a very real knowledge and understanding of how important this lifeline is for so many folks. And I’m quite concerned that what’s happening at the federal level is going to have that detrimental impact that we are hearing being recounted time and time and time again.”

Key highlights: 

• “Most seniors in nursing homes depend on Medicaid. Two out of five of our children in Nevada depend on Medicaid. And a vast majority over two -thirds of people who are on Medicaid go to work every single day, but their income requires them to rely upon Medicaid for healthcare.”
• “Waste, abuse and fraud are things that we have to address, but this bill doesn’t do that specifically enough. What we’re talking about is ripping away healthcare for 12 million Americans. We’re talking about my neighbors here, who some immediately will have health care ripped from them for over 100,000 Nevadans.”
• “We’re talking about a budget hole here that, by the way, our state governor should know very well and should not be so silent on this issue…Or is he going to let another 132,000 Nevadans lose coverage? That’s our current governor. And it’s shameful that he’s not speaking up and defending Nevadans, which frankly is the reason why I’m running for governor.”
• “And you know, that said, we [Democratic AGs] will continue to undertake any efforts that we can to protect our respective constituents here in Nevada, but also elsewhere in the other states that my colleagues and I are working together to protect people.”

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