Noah Wyle is well known for appearing in the TV series “ER”,
but he was jailed for showing his support in Medicaid protests on Capitol
Hill. He was among several advocates who
used wheelchairs expressing concern. Those
activists in the wheelchairs were members of the organization ADAPT and lead
the protests.
“Cutting or changing
Medicaid without thoughtful reform has very real life or death consequences for
people with disabilities and people who are aging who live on fixed incomes
that are significantly below the poverty level,” said Marsha Katz who traveled from
Montana to participate in the ADAPT actions. “Washington should be putting our
tax dollars into cost-saving community based services, not costly nursing homes
or institutions.”
Representatives for the Capitol Police state 76 people were
arrested because of the protests. They
were charged with unruly behavior and demonstrating at the Capitol. Activists didn’t leave the Capitol area when
asked causing the arrests.
Members of ADAPT are showing anger over a Republican
proposal that slashes federal Medicaid income.
This proposal would also slash Medicaid benefits to community-based
residences but give more money to nursing homes. Wyle is presently an activist for universal
health care which was his reasoning for joining the protests.
Trouble in the ER: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/04/23/actor-arrested-dc/15445/
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