Squeezed with Yvette Nicole Brown

Episode: Caring for 80 Million Americans
Date: October 22, 2025
Host: Yvette Nicole Brown
Guests: Ai-jen Poo, Kelly Fountain
Podcast By: Lemonada Media

Episode Overview

In this powerful episode, Yvette Nicole Brown dives into the devastating impact of recent Medicaid cuts on caregivers and families across America. With heartfelt interviews and a focus on lived experience, the episode highlights the emotional, economic, and social stakes for the 80 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, especially those most vulnerable: caregivers, people with disabilities, the elderly, and low-income families. Through conversations with leading advocate Ai-jen Poo and Arkansas mom Kelly Fountain, the episode humanizes the crisis and calls listeners to solidarity and action for a reimagined, compassionate care system.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Importance of Medicaid—and What's at Stake

• Medicaid as a Lifeline:

  • Medicaid supports 80 million Americans, making it the nation’s biggest health care provider.
  • “Getting quality medical shouldn’t be treated as a privilege. It’s a basic human right.” (A, 01:18)
  • Medicaid cuts amounting to over $1 trillion threaten not just individuals’ health but the fundamental promise America has made to care for each other.

• The Reality of Cuts:

  • New budget cuts, signed into law by President Trump, strike at Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and SNAP.
  • Women, immigrants, and communities of color are expected to feel the harshest effects.
  • Yvette emphasizes the gravity: "I can't overstate how huge these cuts are. They're going to hurt so many caregivers and people who need care." (A, 03:12)

Medicaid: Myths and Realities

• Who Relies on Medicaid?

  • Ai-jen Poo debunks myths, noting Medicaid isn’t just for the poor—it is a safety net for a huge swathe of America, touching nearly every family:
    • "The people on Medicaid are you and me... if you yourself don't rely on Medicaid, you know and love someone who does." (B, 10:55)
  • Funds 40% of U.S. childbirths and is critical for long-term care (most of which Medicare doesn’t cover).

• Systemic Flaws and Underlying Problems:

  • The system prioritizes treating problems, not people:
    • "Our whole healthcare system is designed to treat problems, not people." (B, 07:33)
  • Over 700,000 families are on home care waitlists; even before cuts, Medicaid was overstretched.

Personal Stories Highlighting the Crisis

Ai-jen Poo’s Personal Connection

• Shares how her family struggled to find quality care for her grandfather:
  • "He was sharing a room with five other people. The food was unrecognizable. He did not eat. He was a shadow, a shell of who he was. It broke my heart." (B, 06:23)

The Fountains’ Story: Living at the Precipice

• Meet Kelly Fountain and her son Colby:
  • Colby, 25, has autism and a rare genetic disorder.
  • Medicaid made genetic diagnosis possible after years of struggle.
    • "Because of Medicaid, we were able to get him genetically tested, which we pushed for for years." (D, 19:13)
  • After 13 years on a waiting list, Colby now gets limited support to live semi-independently—but Kelly still provides much of his care.
  • Even with “the lifeline” of the Medicaid waiver, Kelly says, “It’s a rope that is frayed and has one little thread... when it could be a chain.” (D, 20:55)
  • The threat of cuts means losing everything: “Without the waiver program, there is no way we could afford to support him.” (A, 22:19)
  • Facing a lack of support and hostile policies, the Fountain family is planning to move to a more supportive state.

Major Themes and Memorable Quotes

Loss and Fear—but Also Hope

• Ai-jen’s Resilience and Vision:

  • “Every crisis creates openings… what does it look like for us to take this time to imagine the system that could work for us… even better.” (B, 05:03)
  • "We have to fight. This is really about the soul of the country. This is about how we look ourselves in the eye." (B, 14:05)

• Kelly’s Warning:

  • “None of us are safe. If you aren't going to stand up for people in a most vulnerable community, who will you stand up for? This is going to come to your doorstep…” (D, 24:03)

Barriers to Access: The Work Requirement Trap

• Bureaucracy Over Humanity:
  • New work requirements force enrollees to repeatedly prove employment; for caregivers, this is often impossible.
    • "You have to essentially prove that you are working every six months... or reattest to their work status every single month... working people don’t have time." (B, 15:03)
    • "If you are a family caregiver... you actually can't leave the person in your care in order to get a job outside the home..." (B, 16:39)

The Ripple Effect: Why Everyone is Impacted

• Systemic Fallout:

  • Cuts will increase costs and reduce care quality for all; home care workforce and providers will shrink, impacting consumers regardless of their insurance status.
    • “Every home care agency gets a portion of its revenue through Medicaid… Medicaid funding gets cut, the quality of services, the staffing, everything is going to get impacted…” (B, 25:39)
    • “Our costs are going to go up, there’s no doubt. And it’s going to get harder to get access to quality care.” (B, 25:39)

• Interconnection:

  • “Human beings are interconnected, and so are these systems that serve us in our human needs.” (B, 27:12)

Call to Action—From Crisis to Reimagining

• Grassroots Mobilization:
  • Ai-jen calls for a million-story care consultation, urging people to share their stories, meet, and advocate for a new Social Security-like care compact:
    • "We want to talk to a million of you out there... collect all of those stories... to build the actual caregiving system that we need for the future, like a new Social Security Act." (B, 30:53)
    • “We’re going to go old school, grassroots. Going to get back to the basics.” (B, 30:53)
  • Yvette: “Caring for others is how we get there.” (A, 27:59)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Medicaid as a Lifeline: 00:44–01:38
• Advocacy Vigil and Medicaid’s Promise: 01:54–02:37
• Impact of Budget Cuts: 03:12–04:00
• Ai-jen Poo’s Outlook: 05:03–05:53
• Ai-jen’s Personal Story: 06:23–07:25
• Systemic Flaws in Care: 07:33–08:46
• Who Uses Medicaid: 10:55–12:52
• Work Requirements and Eligibility: 15:03–17:26
• Kelly Fountain's Experience: 18:25–24:03
• Wider Impact of Cuts: 25:39–27:59
• Power of Story & Call to Action: 29:02–32:56

Conclusion

“Caring for 80 Million Americans” exposes the devastating effects of Medicaid cuts through lived experience, expertise, and urgent calls for community action. As Yvette Nicole Brown and her guests make clear, Medicaid isn’t an abstract program—it’s a lifeline, a promise, and a test of national values. The episode insists that the fight for caregivers and quality healthcare is not only a moral imperative but ultimately impacts every American. The call is clear: share your story, fight for dignity and care, and help build a system where no one is left to struggle alone.