Dodging His District: Valadao Under Fire for Medicaid Cuts

Now, health care workers, patients, and caregivers are taking action, demanding answers from their congressman who has refused to hear from voters face-to-face ever since the vote. 

A good lesson for Valadao: When you sell out your district and hide from the people who elected you to represent them, they don’t forget — they show up and hold you accountable.

ABC 23 Bakersfield: Bakersfield community rallies against Congressman David Valadao’s support for Medicaid cuts

• Bakersfield community members rallied against healthcare cuts, calling out Congressman David Valadao for supporting policies they say are hurting hospitals and vulnerable residents across the Central Valley.
• Anna Palacio, a registered nurse at Kern Medical, said the proposed reductions would be devastating to both patients and the region’s already strained healthcare workforce.
• “Almost 70% of our funding comes from some form of Medicaid,” Palacio said. “We also train and teach nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and so many students that come through and learn at Kern Medical. Taking that away is going to impact the healthcare workforce.” She added that the effects of reduced funding are already being felt on the hospital floor.
• Monica Escalante, an In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) worker, said Valadao’s absence from the protest and similar events spoke volumes.
• “We have people out here on their feedings, and the people it’s actually affecting,” Escalante said. “David Valadao should be here seeing this, and he’s not. He hasn’t shown up anywhere.”
• Escalante, like many protesters, accused the congressman of prioritizing party leadership over his constituents.
• “We can’t leave our clients and our constituents behind like he did,” she said. “That’s why we’re out here to continue this fight. And I’m not giving it up.”
• 23ABC reached out to Congressman Valadao’s office for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

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