PRESS ADVISORY FOR:  
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 

MEDIA CONTACT: 
Gena Madow, Senior Director of Communications, gmadow@communitycatalyst.org.

As Congress debates funding priorities, advocates say the stakes couldn’t be clearer: coverage saves lives and prevents debt. Cutting Medicaid will do the opposite. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  On Tuesday, April 29, Community Catalyst and a coalition of national, state, and local partners will come together in Washington, D.C., for a #CareNotCollections Day of Action urging Congress to protect Medicaid and take meaningful steps to reduce medical debt. 

This coordinated effort will bring advocates, policy experts, and individuals with lived experience to Capitol Hill to highlight how cuts to Medicaid will fuel a growing medical debt crisis—and why protecting access to care is both a health and economic imperative. 

“We’re at a tipping point. Across the country, people are at risk losing coverage because of potential congressional and presidential actions—and finding themselves one illness away from financial disaster,” said Mona Shah, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy, Community Catalyst. “This isn’t a partisan issue. Voters on both sides of the aisle strongly support Medicaid and want real action to address the medical debt crisis. Congress has a choice: protect families or protect corporate profit. The path forward is clear.” 

The day’s events will include:

  • A briefing for congressional staff focused on health care affordability and the link between Medicaid coverage losses and medical debt 
  • Direct meetings with Democratic and Republican lawmakers 
  • Storytelling opportunities with people impacted by coverage gaps, high out-of-pocket costs, and billing practices 
  • A coordinated digital and paid media campaign to build public awareness 

The public is clear: Don’t cut Medicaid—fix the medical debt crisis. 

Polling from HIT Strategies and others shows overwhelming public concern about the high cost of health care—and strong, bipartisan support for protecting Medicaid, making health care more affordable, and tackling medical debt. 

Rushed and massive cuts to Medicaid would only make things worse. Families are already being pushed into debt, losing coverage, and struggling to afford basic care—all while prices of every day goods go up and the profits of corporate health care giants and private equity firms grow. 

Medicaid is one of the most effective tools we have to keep people covered, healthy and out of debt. Massively cutting it now would deepen the crisis, raise costs, and put families’ health and financial stability at even greater risk. 

WHO:

  • Mona Shah, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy, and Michelle Sternthal, Director of Government Affairs, Community Catalyst 
  • Jessica Foster, Pennsylvania Health Access Network and Jason (PA) – A freelance illustrator whose silver plan, made affordable through premium tax credits, proved life-saving after a thyroid cancer diagnosis at age 33. He now advocates for extending these credits so others aren’t forced to choose between care and financial ruin. 
  • Rana Alkilani, Arab American Family Services (Illinois) and Manal (IL) – A mother living with chronic illness whose medical debt destroyed her credit and made it difficult to find housing. After being denied financial assistance and interpretation services, she finally received Medicaid and is grateful for the relief it provides. 
  • Rachel Prestipino, Catalyst Miami and Beyssa (FL) – A self-advocate who was wrongly removed from Medicaid and left with a $134K medical bill, while Medicaid was only billed $3K. She went months without coverage, facing emotional and financial strain, but her story is far from unique. 
  • Marissa Hallo, Center for Health Progress and Rocio (CO) – A mother of four whose daughter relies on Medicaid for life-saving insulin and care for Type 1 diabetes. Before qualifying for Medicaid, Rocio fell into deep medical debt from co-pays, wage garnishment, and high-interest payday loans. Medicaid has brought stability and hope for a healthier, more secure future for her family. 

WHAT: 
Medicaid & Medical Debt Day of Action – Briefing, Hill Meetings, Storytelling, and Digital Engagement 

WHEN:  
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 

WHERE:  
U.S. Capitol Complex 
Media availability throughout the day. 

WHY: 
Medicaid cuts don’t just threaten coverage—they push families into debt, destabilize hospitals, and raise costs across the board. With bipartisan concern growing, now is the time for lawmakers to protect what works and act on commonsense solutions that reduce medical debt and ensure access to affordable, quality care. 

MEDIA CONTACT: 
Gena Madow, Senior Director of Communications, gmadow@communitycatalyst.org.  

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About Community Catalyst: 
 
Community Catalyst is a national organization dedicated to building the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all. We’re an experienced, trusted partner to organizations across the country, a change agent to policymakers at the local, state, and national level, and both an adversary and a collaborator to health systems in our efforts to advance health justice. We partner with local, state and national organizations and leaders to leverage and build power so that people are at the center of important decisions about health and health care, whether they are made by health care executives, in state houses, or on Capitol Hill. Together with partners, we’re building a powerful, united movement with a shared vision of and strategy for a health system accountable to all people. Learn more at www.communitycatalyst.org.