Mike Rickard

Actor, Singer/Songwriter - ATLUTD is my team!

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@HunterBiden @lfr5150 @TheLizVariant

[Gianl1974 @Gianl1974]

🚨 Trump's new Medicaid rules just made it official: having cancer is not enough to be exempt from work requirements. You have to PROVE cancer is stopping you from working. While you're in chemo.

This week, the Trump administration released its final 400-page rule on how states must enforce the Medicaid work requirements that were buried inside last year's "One Big Beautiful Bill." Starting January 1, 2027, most low-income adults on Medicaid must prove every single month they are working, volunteering, or attending school for at least 80 hours — or lose their coverage.

For months, advocates for cancer patients and people living with HIV had been pushing for a blanket medical exemption. What they got instead was a trap. The new rule ties the definition of "medically frail" — the exemption category — directly to a person's ability to work. That means cancer patients who are still capable of working, even in between chemo rounds, do not automatically qualify. A woman with early-stage breast cancer receiving radiation treatment? May not qualify. A man living with HIV who takes medication and still reports to work? No exemption.

And here's the part that should stop you cold: Harvard health policy professor Adrianna McIntyre told reporters that even cancer patients who ARE technically exempt could still lose coverage — because the paperwork process is so complex that "a recently diagnosed cancer patient who is employed might lose Medicaid coverage due to errors in completing the necessary paperwork." Cancer will not wait while a Medicaid office sifts through forms.

The American Cancer Society ran the numbers. Researchers at the University of Chicago published a study in JAMA Oncology projecting that over 1 million mammograms and colorectal and lung cancer screenings will be missed within the first two years of these rules. That translates to more than 2,300 undetected cancer cases — hundreds at advanced stages — and an estimated 155 avoidable deaths from just three types of cancer alone.

A coalition of 48 patient advocacy groups signed a joint statement calling the rule "life-threatening." The American Academy of Pediatrics said it will "harm those whom Medicaid is intended to support." The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute's director said bluntly: "We will lose individuals from Medicaid, and many will become ill and die as a result."
68 million Americans depend on Medicaid. The CBO says at least 5 million will lose coverage. And Dr. Oz went on TV to defend it by saying Medicaid recipients watch too much television.

[Janice Hough @leftcoastbabe]

From the Texas Tribune:

After Mexican officials confirmed case of screwworm in Nov. 2024, USDA, under Joe Biden, closed southern ports of entry to live cattle imports to prevent spread of screwworm into U.S. Move also strained supply of cattle in Texas....
USDA reversed course in Feb 2025, after Trump took office, announcing opening of ports"

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@CalltoActivism @acnewsitics I love that for him.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@atrupar Oh Ted, Ted, Ted. Booger eating Ted. Thinking you any sort of ‘masculine.” When Trump calls your wife ugly and you lick his balls and say, “Thank you, sir.” Girl, you ain’t it.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@RobSchneider Sounds just like Trump winning all 7 swing states in 2024.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@RpsAgainstTrump If Mike Lee wasn’t so based, he’d have some credibility. But he has none.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@MJMiller367187 @ibeto_be Every time they open the roof, I look up and say, “The butthole is opening.” Then snicker like a 12 year old. I’ll see myself out now.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@GeraldoRivera Only if the US makes it a national holiday. And then not.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@GeraldoRivera Ok Boomer.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@MonicaCrowley I believe then. It takes time to count paper ballots. But yeah, go on.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@iAnonPatriot Ain’t it great!!! Individuality and living their best lives, all while minding their own damn business.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@glennbeck Asking tough questions isn’t berating. It’s doing her job! But whiny man pitched a fit and stormed off like a toddler. Get done.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@DrownedMadonna @mattrett This is a great write up! Thanks, Matthew.

[Molly Ploofkins @Mollyploofkins]

The four stages of being confronted with your own lies...

[Gianl1974 @Gianl1974]

ABSOLUTELY. She didn't let him lie. She didn't let him bully. She stood her ground. When he couldn't take the heat and started to leave, she REFUSED to let him go without calling him out for abandoning his duty to answer to the American people.

EVERY reporter should see this, and take notes!

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@m_scrapbook 6/5. 12/10.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@sarcasmNbooks @MADGAGBEY This! Is! Fierce!

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@mysinsmysavior @m_scrapbook I got goosebumps the first time I watched it. Blew my damn mind.

[Mike Rickard @mlrickard]

@MadonnaUltimate What an era this far!!! Loving every moment of it. She really delivered.