LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – A group of more than 300 people gathered in Louisville on Saturday to protest potential cuts to Medicaid. This comes as President Donald Trump says his administration will continue to try and root out fraud in federal spending.

President Trump has said his administration won’t touch Medicaid, but that it will look for waste, fraud and abuse. However, the reconciliation bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives instructs the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees programs like Medicaid and Medicare, to cut more $880 billion in spending.

At Saturday’s rally, Congressman Morgan McGarvey said there isn’t more than $800 billion worth of fraud available to do away with.

“Think about this, there aren’t even 880 billionaires in the United States of America,” he mentioned. “We would know if there was $880 billion in fraud. There’s not.“

McGarvey said one in three Kentuckians rely on Medicaid. He explained his focus in Congress right now is making sure lawmakers know there are real people behind those numbers.

“We’re talking about kids with cancer,” he added. “We’re talking about veterans who are contemplating suicide. We are talking about seniors. We’re talking about working single moms who are just trying to get healthcare for their kids. These cuts, the way they’ve been proposed, are so severe that it puts all of that at risk.“

In that rally held at the UAW Local 862, Angela Masden shared how Medicaid allowed her to get ADHD medicine and other treatments for her son Xavier. She shared, though, she recently learned she was cut off from Medicaid because her income increased by just 2%.

“How can I raise Xavier in dignity when this government tells me that making just enough to keep the lights on disqualifies me from keeping him healthy,” she asked.

While the reconciliation bill doesn’t specifically mention making cuts to Medicaid, Masden worries the Trump administration’s goal of cutting federal spending may result in cuts to Medicaid regardless.

“Without it (Medicaid), families like mine are left to scramble,” she mentioned. “We are forced to choose between paying rent, paying lights, or keeping our siblings, our families alive.”

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