GOP Medicaid Cuts Will Probably Cost This Man His Freedom. How The Hell Is That 'Better Care'?

His voice synthesizer has a British accent. If only his healthcare did...

If you didn't watch MSNBC's "The Last Word" Friday, you missed an amazing interview with a family that's certain to be affected, badly, by the Republican plan to cut nearly a trillion dollars from Medicaid over the next decade so rich people can get a nice tax cut. Guest host Ari Melber spoke to Mike Phillips and his mom, Karen Clay. Mike was born with a neuromuscular disorder, spinal muscular atrophy, which has degraded his muscles so badly that he needs a ventilator to breathe, and a computer interface to communicate. He was featured a few years back in a segment of the TV version of "This American Life," about how a young adult -- dependent on his mom's full-time caregiving -- navigated late-adolescent rebellion and, at least emotionally, breaking away from mom, becoming a tattooed gothy guy, and having a girlfriend:

Thanks to Medicaid, Mike is able to live at home, with his mom still as his primary caregiver, plus some part-time aides. He blogs, and he sends out wonderfully snotty messages to GOP senatorson Twitter.

Friday, Mike Phillips and Karen Clay discussed how the proposed cuts to Medicaid, which will change funding to a block grant for states, capped by population and steadily reduced over time, will likely mean Phillips won't be able to stay at home, and may end up institutionalized, with far less control over his life. Because MSNBC's embed code doesn't play well with WordPress (use HTTPS embedding, damn you!), we can't embed the whole interview, which you should go watch. Here's a snippet from their Twitter with Mike's statement, read by his computer's voice synthesizer:

. @wholeexpanse , who has spinal muscular atrophy and depends on Medicaid for his care, shares his fears about what cuts could mean for him:  pic.twitter.com/UjX5Lb7t5z 

— The Last Word (@TheLastWord) June 24, 2017