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University of Michigan student on Medicaid worries about future amid looming federal cuts

University of Michigan student on Medicaid worries about future amid looming federal cuts

CBS News28-05-2025
President Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which passed in the House and is now awaiting a vote in the Senate, aims to reduce Medicaid federal spending by nearly $700 billion. Under the bill, millions of Americans could lose their Medicaid coverage.
In Ann Arbor, University of Michigan student Vincent Pinti is earning a combined public policy and law degree. He uses a wheelchair due to a genetic condition called spinal muscular atrophy.
When he graduated from high school, the West Virginia native searched for the most accessible campus in the country.
"The University of Michigan was rated as the most accessible university in the United States," said Pinti. "And I had the notion to believe, well, if it's rated this highly, then all the supports and services that I would need would be in place here. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case."
Pinti had to advocate for his needs and spent months navigating red tape to receive care under Medicaid, which differs from state to state.
"I have 24/7 caregiving," he explained. "I have around 17 students that provide my care each week. Throughout my day I'll need anything from help getting out of bed in the morning, to going to the restroom, to having access to food, to having access to food. During the school year, they help make sure I can go to and from classes."
Such round-the-clock care costs roughly $150,000 a year, but thanks to Medicaid, Pinti's needs are covered—for now.
"The budget bill that was passed in the House this week will quite bluntly be catastrophic for people currently on the Medicaid program," said Pamela Herd, one of Pinti's professors. "You're looking at pretty massive cuts, a lot of additional complexities that are going to be added to an already complicated program.
An expert in disability policy, Pinti says she understands the challenges he is facing now and in the future.
"And the simple fact of the matter is they wanted to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the program, and they've designed a bill that will do just that. And it's people like Vincent who are going to pay a high price for those cuts," she said.
"With Medicaid, I might not be eligible for it going forward because it's really hard to simultaneously work and be on Medicaid," said Pinti. "When I finish college and I get a degree, Medicaid, it requires that you make under $30,000 a year. It says that you can't have more than $2,000 in assets at any given time.
"So basically, I have a choice I have to make where I'll have to choose between having a full-time job and burning all my income on healthcare services or remaining on Medicaid and not having a career."
Recent cuts to the U.S. Department of Education meant Pinti lost $20,000 in annual grants for students with disabilities.
"We're trying to navigate a world where it seems like disability services and supports for our community are getting slashed left and right, and it doesn't seem like much thought is going into it," he said. "And real people, such as myself, are getting hurt."
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Love, bonding and woman with her mom with cancer hugging, sitting and spending time together. Happy, ... More sweet and sick mature female person embracing her adult daughter with a smile in outdoor garden. Cancer survivors have a great story to tell. They should tell it. I started this campaign 15 years ago – and here's the latest iteration. Over the last few weeks, I spoke with five interesting people who had five things in common. Here are the first four. They are all cancer survivors, they are all returning to the workplace after a long battle, they are all having a monumentally hard time getting a job, and they are all over 55. However, the fifth thing they have in common is why today's column came to be. They are all doing everything they can to hide these facts, especially the first one: the cancer. Now jump to thing five, the difficulty in finding a job. That's why I got their calls and emails. I gave them all the same advice. Tell people about it. Don't hide it. Get it out front and out of the way. This seemed counterintuitive to them – it may to you as well – and when I first laid it out, it made them uncomfortable. By the time we finished our conversations, though, they all agreed. And I'll bet many people reading this disagree initially, too. In fact, the advice these five people had gotten from everyone to whom they had previously spoken was opposite to mine – don't mention it, don't bring it up, don't discuss it, employers are not allowed to ask about that, if employers know they'll never hire you, it's none of their business, your previous employer is not allowed to mention it. And so on, ad infinitum. Well then, if that's the right advice, why are these people unable to find work? If they've hidden these facts, shouldn't that – based on those others' advice – lead to job opportunities? No, because it's bad advice. If you follow that line of strategic (?) thinking, and it goes month after month – in two cases, over a year – doesn't that indicate it might be faulty? This advice came from people who meant well: doctors, social workers, psychologists, religious leaders, people from the state department of labor, lawyers, family, friends, and so on. They just don't know the realities of the job market. In each case, we got around to how these five answered the 'what-have-you-been-doing-since-your-last-job?' and 'why-did-you-leave-your-last-job?' questions. OK, so how did they answer those questions? With every half-baked cockamamie answer you can think of, none of which holds water. Other than the truth, any answer is weak and suspect. If you think otherwise, go ahead; try any other answer and get back to me if you come up with one that sounds convincing – and that sounds like one that will move you to the second round of interviews. Now, one might think this is asking for trouble, that (as they all said) employers would not hire them due to fear they would get sick again and … you know the rest. Underneath it all, what's wrong with all this is that, in the eyes of many – me included – cancer survivors are heroes, and nothing less. They know all about the important things in life, like vision, determination, patience, goals, positive thinking, decision-making, responsibility, team work, bravery, and fortitude. Are these not the characteristics an employer looks for? So why hide this? Is it because you feel you'll get fewer calls or second interviews? Indeed you will, but that's OK. This deception game is the same faulty thinking that goes into the hide-my-age-by-leaving-stuff-off-my-resume fallacy. C'mon, some employers might be unfair to older workers or cancer survivors or anyone else, but they're not stupid. Whatever you try to hide will come out sooner or later. If you do the deceptive dance, they'll just find out later (not sooner), and then you'll just have wasted an awful lot of your time, not to mention keeping your hopes up artificially. So my suggestion is this. Start your cover letters off with a bold statement: 'After spending the last 10 months battling cancer, I have won that battle and am now re-entering the workplace.' Continue your letter as you would normally. You know what's going to happen? For sure, you will get fewer responses. But the ones you get are going to be real – very real. Don't you think there are people who admire what you've done? Don't you think a large number of hiring managers have either had the same experience you did or had a family member who did? Don't you think there are companies who are such avid supporters of cancer research that they sponsor 5K runs, Relay for Life, and other events in which we now all participate? The answers are yes, yes, and yes. And don't you think that, to these companies and managers, you're a hero? Yes again. Well then, let them know! The ones who will disqualify you because of what you've been through are jerks, and if by any slim chance you get this by them initially, what do you think will happen once this comes out? Jerks are always jerks; don't forget that. I'll take fewer calls any day of the week if they're sincere and real, wouldn't you? And if you can create the conditions under which that happens, why wouldn't you? Do not lose sight of one thing. You're a hero. And if you're a hero, why are you hiding it? P.S. I subsequently received letters of thanks from two different offices of the Aamerican Cancer Society, one of which published it in their newsletter. E.

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