Clay Dunlap is worried. He dedicated his life to public education, coaching basketball and serving as a school administrator. He jokes that he wasn’t smart enough to pursue careers that came with bigger paychecks.

He’s not wealthy by any means, but he’s done his part over the years to pay into the system. And at 88, he is concerned that the system he supported throughout his working years won’t be there to support him like he thought it would.

“Medicare is the only reason I’m alive,” he said. 

Dunlap lives in Lewistown, a rural town in Montana that is home to about 6,000 or so people. Like most small towns, Lewistown is anchored by a vibrant and lively main street. Its unique main street sits atop Spring Creek, which is visible through a hole cut in the floor at a local tavern. And the area is known for its Yogo sapphires, which are the only types that come out of the ground blue.

After coaching in North Dakota and in a small town in northeastern Montana, Dunlap retired in Lewistown where he lives with other “old fogeys,” which is how he refers to his peers who are in their 80s and 90s. And he firmly believes that Medicare is the reason he and his neighbors are living as long as they are.

“I’m enjoying my retired years,” he said. “I’ve been very healthy up until a year ago.”

Dunlap experienced what he describes as a serious bladder blowout. It meant that he had to be rushed to Great Falls, which is more than 100 miles from Lewistown, where a doctor provided emergency care. The care he needed wasn’t available any closer to home. 

“Financially, that would have broken us,” he said. “It was close to $40,000. Medicare and our supplement picked up everything.”

Dunlap fears the potential for Medicare cuts in the very near future, because the increase to the federal deficit that came as a result of the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will automatically trigger cuts to Medicare unless Congress intervenes. Those cuts, estimated at $45 billion, are set to begin in 2026. They’ll climb to hundreds of billions within the decade. 

The cuts to Medicare will come in addition to the significant cuts to Medicaid that were included in the same bill. Estimates suggest that up to 15 million Americans will lose health insurance coverage because of those Medicaid cuts. It has Dunlap on edge. He’s so passionate about it, he even spoke about it at a recent rally in Lewistown.

“We can’t thank Medicare enough,” Dunlap said. “There’s going to come a time, however, when a lot of people are going to get terribly upset. We don’t know where we’re headed.”

Even though Dunlap experienced an emergency health scare, he very much appreciates the value of the preventative aspect of the coverage. Yearly physicals and blood draws keep patients and their doctors informed about any abnormalities that may need attention. 

For Dunlap, those blood draws inform the advice he receives from his doctor to lower his sodium intake, get exercise and try to find ways to relax.

“Without these yearly physical exams, people wouldn’t know they’re sick and they’ll probably die quicker,” Dunlap said. “We don’t give Medicare enough credit.”

Dunlap has a great deal of respect and reverence for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, social programs he believes are the best three in history. And, he understands that programs that size can fall victim to unscrupulous actors from time to time.

But he’s confident there are solutions that can keep the programs performing for older Americans who have supported them throughout their careers. He believes the money to fund them can be prioritized, as they have been historically.

“There are things that we can do to make sure Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security continue,” he said. “It’s the basis for how we keep older people alive and healthy.”