To the editor:

My sister’s father-in-law suffers from MS and dementia. He was in a private pay facility for two years until family finances were exhausted. After that, he became a Medicaid recipient in North Dakota. Last Friday, the nursing home contacted my sister saying that Medicaid is claiming he is ineligible for benefits until Oct 2026.

My sister’s father-in-law is wheelchair bound, delusional and has been suicidal. The nursing home also said that Medicaid is looking to take back $300,000 in payments that were made to the nursing home. She told my sister she is seeing this kind of thing a lot lately.

This is a classic insurance industry move. I guarantee you that this is showing up as DOGE “savings” and reclamation of “fraudulent government payments.” These kinds of activities will force nursing homes to close. They cannot provide care to residents if they can’t get paid for doing so.

Between 25-75% of nursing home residents receive Medicaid assistance because families cannot afford the upwards of $10,000/month in costs for what can be several years. The kinds of things that are happening right now are a compounding of tragedies: for residents who need care, care facilities that want to provide care but can’t get paid for doing so, families that have no financial resources to afford care for a family member, or have the ability to care for that family member’s very complex needs. Unless you have unlimited resources, this can happen to you or your loved ones.

If this upsets and concerns you (and I pray that it does), contact your elected officials and tell them to stop stealing from the old and the sick and giving it to the rich and the powerful. This is not right; and it is certainly not making America great again. It is eroding the very fabric of our society.

MicheLe Larson

Marshall