Across the state, Americans are doing what they can to advocate for saving Medicaid. March 25 and 26, clinic workers like Flavia Tearney-Berthon flew to Washington, D.C., to lobby members of Congress for the cause for two days.

A registered nurse, Tearney-Berthon works for Community Medical Centers in Solano and San Joaquin Counties and knows first-hand what a toll it would take if Medicaid is stripped away. She attended a rally to hear House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries encourage the crowd to ”Press on!” Then she had a chance to get up and share her own story to a room full of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

“It was emotional. I looked around the room and thought this is my chance to make a huge impact,” said Tearney-Berthon. ”I’m normally living in this little community in Dixon going about my business. Having the opportunity to be at the capitol where it’s all happening — most people don’t get a platform like that to speak on, so it was an honor. I felt like I had to do my coworkers and my community proud, speak the truth, and hopefully someone would listen to it. Hopefully it would make an impact.” 

The rest of her trip included marching for Medicaid and going door to door meeting with legislative aides who took down notes regarding her concerns. She said she felt how powerful of a presence SEIU had, with people knowing immediately who they were when they walked past proudly wearing purple. 

“I want people to know you can organize outside of work and do things bigger than yourself. The union at your work is just one part of what SEIU does, and the lobbying part is so important, because without that — someone at the helm trying to fix whatever problems we are having with healthcare — none of us would have jobs to be workers for,” said Tearney-Berthon.

She says groups of Medicaid advocates met with many welcoming Democratic representatives’ aides but were turned away with hostility at Republican Congressman David Valadao’s office. Valadao represents parts of Kern County — the county she says would be most affected in California if there are Medicaid cuts.

“We wanted Valdano to hear us on this issue — that he would have angry constituents,” she said.  

Meanwhile, of meeting California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, she said, “These guys are my heroes. They are really fighting for the little guy. I came back energized.”