Public Media for Central Pennsylvania
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Centre County Residents Hold 24-Hour Health Care Rally

Jared DeLoof and Laura Shadle rally against the proposed Senate health care bill outside of Senator Bob Casey's Bellefonte office.
Katie DeFiore
/
WPSU

Centre County locals are rallying against the Senate’s proposed healthcare bill. The bill was delayed Tuesday, but opponents are gathered for a 24-hour rally in Bellefonte.

The rally began Wednesday at noon with about 10 people gathered on thet street outside Senator Bob Casey’s office.

Organizer Jared DeLoof was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a year ago.

“The insulin I need every single day to live comes out to a couple thousand dollars a month, which is nothing I could ever afford," DeLoof said. "Because of Medicaid and Medicaid expansion, I was able to get all the insulin I need and never have to worry about it.”

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would cut $772 billion from Medicaid by 2026.

Laura Shadle said the goal of this event is to raise awareness and encourage people to reach out to their senators.

"We know that this is going to hit rural Pennsylvanians really hard, and we really wanted to let Senator Casey know we are happy he is out there fighting for us," Shadle said. "And we’re really pushing for Senator Toomey to do the right thing. We’d like him to get on board as well.”

The event will come to a close Thursday at noon, when participants will drop off a thank you card at Senator Casey’s office.

Related Content