Families need more than handouts

To the editor:

I was moved by your article describing how Jerry and Lorene Canoy from Zalma, Mo., have to depend on handouts from food pantries because their medical costs are so high. The story of Missouri families unable to make ends meet because of health-care expenses is far too common.

However, it is a cruel joke that state Rep. Rod Jetton is willing to support food pantries for families like the Canoys but has consistently voted to cut health-care safety-net programs like Medicaid that would have protected these families from financial ruin.

Jetton should understand that Medicaid allows Missouri to invest in families and their financial stability. The Canoys need that more than a weekly handout.

MARK BAKER, Jackson