Many residents in Winona currently enrolled in GAMC are disabled or mentally ill, according to the Winona Daily News. Because of Governor Pawlenty’s elimination of the program next year, these Winona residents could lack access to the medication and care they need, said Winona County Human Services director Craig Brooks. The price of eliminating GAMC will fall on hospitals when these residents end up in the emergency room.

“The closer you are to pain and suffering, the harder it is to turn your back,” Brooks said. “And in some situations, there will be no choice.”

Hospitals will be feeling the effects of eliminating GAMC in the lack of funding they will receive as well. By cutting GAMC, Governor Pawlenty will cause the Community Memorial Hospital to lose over $570,000 in funding.

The tens of thousands of people who will be cut off of medical coverage because of eliminating GAMC are not thriving. Instead, they will be looking to survive—going to the hospital sicker and ending up in the emergency room. We need a Minnesota that does more than survive. Help us get the real stories behind Governor Pawlenty’s budget cuts by sharing your story with us.