‘Medicaid saved my life’: Lincoln woman camps out at Bacon’s office to protest proposed cuts

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A Lincoln woman is camping outside of Rep. Don Bacon’s office in Omaha on Friday night.

Amanda Gershon is demanding action on what she called a life-threatening issue.

She said the proposed cuts to Medicaid in the federal budget would gut access to vital services for Nebraskans, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and low-income families.

“Medicaid saved my life multiple times,” Gershon said. “In 2016, I was told that I had a year to live if I was lucky. I’m still here. Once again, I had Medicaid to get back on my feet and get on with my life and live.”

She’s upset with Bacon for signing onto the cuts and she takes issue with the House Agriculture Committee advancing the plan in a late-night vote.

So she’s camping outside Bacon’s office in silence, but with purpose.

“There are groups of us who are watching and paying attention, and we want to let them know that even if you decide to do things in the middle of the night, we are actively paying attention,” she said. “If we have to camp out overnight to make sure there’s no late-night meetings again, we’ll keep doing it.”

Medicaid currently covers more than 350,000 Nebraskans.

If cuts go through, states may be forced to reduce services or eligibility.

Channel 8 reached out to Bacon’s office for a comment but received no response.

Gershon said she has the number to the American Civil Liberties Union written on her arm, just in case she happens to get arrested.

But she’s not afraid to be there by herself because she’s not really alone.

“I got my community around me; I got people that support me,” Gershon said. “I got a friend buying me snacks, I got people bringing me snacks. I got people bringing me coffee. It’s not me by myself. I’m disabled, I got time to give, and not much else.”

She said she will continue to fight the good fight because she’s fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves.