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Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, hosted a “Medicaid Day of Action” in Selma through a partnership with several local healthcare providers to shed light on the importance of Medicaid and the impacts of the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to Medicaid within the Dallas County community.

The “Medicaid Day of Action” held by Sewell took place at the Rural Health Medical Program’s Central Office, starting out with an exclusive roundtable conversation with several executive members of healthcare including Rural Health Medical Program CEO Keshee Dozier Smith and Selma Air Executive Director Larry Cowan among many other local healthcare representatives.

“We are honored to have hosted the event in honor of Sewell’s efforts and to also be members at table, having the conversation about Medicaid and any cuts regarding Medicaid that would impact community health centers,” Smith said. “Being one of the 19 health centers within the state of Alabama and one that’s in six of the poorest counties in the state of Alabama, we will truly be impacted by any cuts and changes to the programs.

“As stated in the meeting, we are currently now, after about 19 years, going through the process of getting rate adjustments, which means for years, we have been getting some of the lowest reimbursements for the services that we provide for patients who need it the most and now, to be faced with cuts in the programs, it seems overwhelming and it also feels that the hard work, the uphill battle of trying to get a fair reimbursement while  also participating in other quality initiatives that may be impacted, you kind of almost feel defeated, but you can’t give up because it’s the fight that the community needs,” Smith said.

Alongside a roundtable, Sewell held a press conference to talk about Trump’s latest proposals and her thoughts regarding the cuts to Medicaid, which is a joint federal and state program that helps citizens with limited income and resources cover medical costs, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Today’s roundtable is an opportunity for me to highlight some of the many ways that our community benefits from vital federal services and programs that deal with healthcare. In February, at the direction of President Trump, House Republicans narrowly passed their 2025 budget proposal, which would make four trillion dollars’ worth of cuts to programs that Americans rely on in order to take tax credits to giant corporations and the wealthy, while Donald Trump and Elon Musk claim to be eliminating government waste, which we know that that is far from the truth,” Sewell said.

Sewell said the cuts coming from the Trump administration threaten vital services that many in Selma rely on, such as housing services, healthcare and veteran benefits, including food assistance.

“Under the House Republicans proposal, Medicaid alone would be cut by $880 billion. Threatening to take away healthcare from some of the most vulnerable in our society. These cuts are about more than just statistics, they are about lives and livelihoods. Behind every cut is a service and someone’s salary.”

Sewell said in Alabama, half of all births are covered by Medicaid, and roughly 45 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries in Alabama are children and she said to strip children of their healthcare while giving tax cuts to billionaires and trillionaires is an outrageous portrayal of our values as Americans.

“But, sadly it is only the tip of the iceberg,” Sewell said. “Their agenda is clear. Billionaires like Elon Musk get rewarded, and Alabama communities foot the bill. It is outrageous and unacceptable, and I think it is critically important that everyone understands the impact that these cuts will have on our community.”

Sewell said through her efforts of convening a healthcare roundtable discussion, she wanted health care providers right here in Selma to know what the repercussions are and what problems could occur, if and when Medicaid is cut in Alabama.