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Dear Partners, 
  
On July 30th, we will celebrate Medicaid's 56th birthday– and there is a lot to celebrate! Over its history, and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicaid has been a literal lifesaver for individuals and families who need to access quality health care. It also continues to be, along with Medicare, an effective instrument for addressing deeply embedded health inequities born of racism and poverty and has been used to advance health justice for a number of communities, including Black and brown people, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and people with low incomes. 
Click Here for our Medicaid Birthday Toolkit
For Medicaid’s birthday this year, we continue to show our support for the life-saving program and lift up its impact, while also looking to Congress to close the Medicaid coverage gap and finally ensure health coverage for people with low incomes in the twelve remaining non-expansion states. As the policy details are hashed out and budget conversations continue in Washington, D.C., Medicaid’s birthday is the perfect time to help amplify the message – Medicaid saves lives.

Save The Date! Join us for a Twitter chat at 1:00 pm ET on Friday, July 30th to celebrate Medicaid's birthday and raise awareness of all the ways Medicaid benefits our communities. More information to come! 

Community Catalyst's Medicaid Birthday Toolkit contains resources for the Twitter chat and to help with these suggested activities:  
  • Celebrate another year of success!  Take a look at our 2020-2021 Year in Review and remember everything we are fighting for!     
  • Engage your state and federal representatives. Your elected representatives are the most important decision makers when it comes to Medicaid. Help your networks make their voices heard with our Medicaid Birthday Representative Contact Guide. To learn more about the federal direct coverage option to close the coverage gap or show your support for this proposal, here is an explainer and messaging
  • Spread the word and amplify your voices with social media.Social media can be a powerful tool to share the benefits of Medicaid and activate your network. We have provided a Social Media Guide with sample social media posts.  
  • Share these unbrandedgraphics (in Englishand Spanish) to help get out the word.  
  • Keep Medicaid in the media.  Reference our guide to Writing a Letter to the Editor, complete with sample LTEs. You can write a letter yourselves, or aid others in sharing their perspective.  
  • Learn more about expanding dental coverage to all adults in Medicaid programs. See our recently released report, done in collaboration with Families USA and ADA Health Policy Institute and share what you learn about the importance of oral health and the benefits of Medicaid dental coverage.
  • Share customized Medicaid birthday content related to Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). We know Medicaid is a powerful resource in ensuring people can live in and receive services from their homes and not in institutions.  
  • Raise up the importance of Medicaid for women and pregnant people! Use this sample social media from Raising Women's Voices to highlight all the good Medicaid does for women, pregnant people and birthing people. 
Join us in using Medicaid’s birthday to both celebrate how much the program has done to support people who need care and to elevate ways to build on the program and make it the most it can be. Together we can ensure that everyone Medicaid is intended to cover – children, pregnant people, parents, older adults, individuals with disabilities and people with low incomes – can get the care they need and deserve.      
 
In Celebration,

The Community Catalyst Team
About Community Catalyst:
Community Catalyst works to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill.
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