Nonviolent Medicaid Army - MA

NVMA MA is proud to be getting into step with our siblings from across the country and meeting our people in Johnstown, PA. Massachusetts has cut over 800,000 people off Medicaid since April 2023. The stories we heard from regular people in Johnstown are our stories, too.

Today we are excited to have a from Lutfi in New Jersey.

"I'm supposed to have "good insurance." But when I lost sight in my left eye and the procedure got coded as elective, I saw a bill totaling $4,500. Having "good insurance" affords me the time to fight with hospitals and insurance companies.



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Good afternoon! We're live with the Nonviolent Medicaid Army Saturday school. We're learning media and spokespeople skills. We're getting into step!

Jacob Butterly from Montgomery County, a leader in the Southeast Pennsylvania Healthcare Rights Committee of Put People First! PA shares their story:

I work full-time for a pretty incredible organization doing outdoor education. I make nearly $15 an hour, and I’m on Medicaid and Food stamps. I’m not saying that to shame where I work, but to highlight that the promise of a $15 minimum wage is not enough: what we need is healthcare as a human right, and Medicaid For All!

Being on Medicaid has been some of the best care I’ve ever had in my life. It’s better than the insurance I had under the ACA when I was 25 and younger. I’ve been able to be proactive about a lot of my health, getting regular blood work and not having to sit around sick when something happens. This is so important to me because I help take care of my mom, who has COPD and is very at-risk, and because my family has an intense history of cancers which took my sister at 34. I’m 31 now, and it looms large in my mind. My mom is also on Medicaid.

But the one thing that sticks out is the fact there is no adult dental benefit to Medicaid in Pennsylvania. My dad cut off my dental care as soon as I was 18, and since then I have not been able to see a dentist. I brush and floss and do everything you’re supposed to do but I deal with dental pain every day of my life. I’ve had a filling fall out from childhood when I was 23 and it was through Put People First! that I was able to get a root canal at 24 with a massive, free dental clinic they knew about. There were close to 10,000 people there from all across Pennsylvania. Why is it in the richest country in the history of the world 10,000 people travel hundreds of miles twice a year, desperate for their basic human right?

You can participate in Massachusetts as well, contact nonviolentmedicaidma(at)gmail(dot)com

Forward together!

🚨 Monday, April 1st marks the one-year anniversary of millions of people being kicked off of Medicaid.

Join us on April 1 to post your healthcare story on social media and show through art, photos, song or poems why we need Medicaid for all.

To get involved, contact [email protected] and use

"A prescription for the cure rests with an accurate diagnosis of the disease." -Rev Dr. MLK Jr. Getting into step with our first NVMA Saturday School of 2024! 👏

We will be there!

Join us for our first national Saturday School of 2024!

February's topic is "Why the Nonviolent Medicaid Army? Organizing the Leading Social Force"

Session is 90 minutes on zoom.

Register here https://bit.ly/NVMASaturdaySchoolFeb2024

Learn more about our movement

2023 Nonviolent Medicaid Army This is "2023 Nonviolent Medicaid Army" by Peter Kinoy on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

The devastation of the people and of the healthcare system in Gaza is connected to the devastation in our healthcare system in the US. Matt from Boston says we need money for MassHealth, not bombs: "I believe in freedom of speech, and defending people that can't defend themselves."

And another shout-out to our Debt Collective and Nonviolent Medicaid Army comrades for an amazing collaborative event yesterday. Forward together!

Incredible work by our siblings in PA! Help us lift from the bottom here in MA. Get in touch to share your story.

A story about the record number of MassHealth Cut-Offs in July! There shouldn't be such paltry coverage. When the powers that be won't share our stories, we have to share them with each other to stay informed. Check out Put People First - PA and Nonviolent Medicaid Army or Vermont Workers' Center for testimony from our network. Get in touch at or send a message here, your story matters!

More than 60,000 members lost MassHealth coverage in July Nearly 61,000 members lost MassHealth coverage in July, significantly more than in any of the three previous months of the year-long redetermination campaign, according to state data published Thursday.

The NVMA is in MassLive today. This will be in print locally in The Republican on Monday. Get in touch and share your Medicaid story: "Millions of Americans who will soon join the ranks of the poor and dispossessed are often described as “falling,” but really they are being pushed into poverty. The acceleration of this is horrifying, but it is also an opportunity to unite those affected by overlapping crises like those in healthcare, climate, and housing." https://www.masslive.com/opinion/2023/08/masshealth-unwinding-reveals-fragility-of-healthcare-in-massachusetts-commentary.html
Put People First - PA Vermont Workers' Center Nonviolent Medicaid Army

MassHealth ‘unwinding’ reveals fragility of healthcare in Massachusetts (Commentary) Research shows that Medicaid coverage saves lives. Coverage loss will result in increased morbidity and death, especially for the poor.

Governor Shapiro and Secretary Arkoosh: No Cuts to Medicaid! Medicaid recipients and members of the Nonviolent Medicaid Army are rejecting the state of Pennsylvania’s plans to strip Medicaid from up to 1.2 million people in the coming year. We are demanding that no one lose their healthcare, and in fact that PA should expand Medicaid to cover all PA residen...

Joanie Dickson, a Lancaster County PA resident, shares her Medicaid Monday's Story…

"My children and myself are Medicaid recipients. I'm worried myself and my children will lose our coverage. My children have asthma and need to be able to get their medication and be able to see the doctor"- Joanie Dickson

To learn more about our Medicaid Cut-offs Organizing Drive and how you can take part click here: https://www.putpeoplefirstpa.org/nomedicaidcutoffs/

Sign our petition to demand a stop the Medicaid Cut-offs!
http://bit.ly/PetitionAgainstMedicaidCutsPA

For we talked to people from all over Boston. Many had loved ones on Mass Health or at risk of losing it. The Medicaid cut-offs were news to most of them, of course - the news media barely covers the cut-offs even though this is the single largest shift in the insurance landscape since the ACA (Obamacare). The struggle over healthcare objectively unites the social force which can face the healthcare crisis and the other crises we face - climate, housing, poverty. Share your MassHealth story with us! Join the Nonviolent Medicaid Army!

This is outrageous. Nearly 70,000 already kicked off MassHealth. If MA successfully takes healthcare from 300,000 of our people, it will "free up" 1.9 billion dollars. "Free it up" for what? What better use of this money is there than to have everyone keep their Medicaid? We should be expanding Medicaid further, not kicking people off. Send us your Medicaid stories for and join the NVMA.

Pace of MassHealth membership purge picked up in June More than 33,000 Bay Staters lost MassHealth coverage in June after being dubbed no longer eligible or failing to provide enough documentation, officials said Tuesday.

Thanks to Put People First - PA for bring folks together to plan the National NVMA Week of Action. We also got to connect with our comrades in Wyoming, Indiana, and New York. Get in touch with us to share your story, if you are worried about losing your Medicaid, or you want to help unite against the cuts!

This month’s Statewide Call is gonna be fire!

Join us on Wednesday July 19th at 7:00 pm!