Those opposed to Gov. Tim PawlentyâÄôs plan to cut state funding for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) rallied inside the Capitol building in St. Paul Thursday. The start of the 2010 legislative session could bring an end to health care coverage for the 28,000 people enrolled in GAMC, a program for low-income adults that do not qualify for federally funded health care programs. Last month, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Cal Ludeman announced that funding for GAMC will end March 31. Robert Fischer , 51, of Minneapolis, became enrolled in GAMC seven years ago, after costs for surgery on his foot led him to become bankrupt. âÄúI used to be a millionaire, and then I had a medical problem,âÄù Fischer said. After becoming homeless and falling into drug addiction, Fischer said he lost all hope. âÄúI gave up. I imploded,âÄù he said. After living on the streets for three years, Fischer said he enrolled in GAMC and found an apartment. Now considered disabled, he is living off of $203 a month. âÄúGAMC was the key,âÄù Fischer said. âÄúItâÄôs been big for me.âÄù Fischer said he is currently looking for work in the health care industry, and plans to be off the program in the near future, but said he owes his success to GAMC. âÄúI wouldnâÄôt have been able to do what I did without it,âÄù Fischer said. Fischer said the governor should carefully consider the effect that cutting the program will have on enrollees. âÄúItâÄôs such an easy thing to black line on paper, but it has huge effects,âÄù Fischer said. âÄúThese are human lives youâÄôre dealing with. TheyâÄôre great people. They have a heart too.âÄù To be eligible for the program, participants must be between the ages of 21 and 64. Participants must also meet the monthly income limit of less than 75 percent of the federal poverty guidelines with less than $1,000 in assets. Under the programâÄôs comprehensive coverage plan, members receive benefits that include routine physicals, immunizations, emergency room care, inpatient hospitalization and mental health services at no cost to them. Some services, such as non-emergency visits to the emergency room and prescriptions, require a co-pay. Community members, hospital representatives, union members and medical students rallied to raise GAMC to the top of the legislative agenda. Nola Lynch, 58, is an employee of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the largest public employee and health care workers union in the United States. Lynch said she attended the rally to represent Regions Hospital employees. She expressed her concern for potential job cuts of doctors and nurses when hospitals are burdened with extra costs not covered by GAMC. Liz Kuoppala , 38, associate director for Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, was also there to support making GAMC a priority on the legislative agenda. âÄúThere are GAMC recipients from all around the state, and they can see people who care about them in the community, hospitals and unions who also think GAMC needs to be a top priority,âÄù Kuoppala said. Jacob Feigal is a second year medical student at the University of Minnesota and co-chairman of the UniversityâÄôs Inter-Professional Street Outreach Program (ISTOP). In the program, medical students provide basic health care to the homeless. Feigal said he opposes the decision to cut the program because he said it gives people access to health care who otherwise wouldnâÄôt be able to afford it. Feigal said ISTOP wants to put pressure on legislators and show that medical professionals donâÄôt support cutting the program. âÄúHopefully, it will light a fire,âÄù Feigal said. Program participants will be transferred to the MinnesotaCare health program when GAMC funding ends April 1. Counties will pay membersâÄô MinnesotaCare premiums for six months, after which they will have to pay their own premiums to keep their coverage. However, Feigal said he believes that wonâÄôt solve the problem. âÄúMany of those people canâÄôt pay the premiums,âÄù Feigal said. âÄúIt will put that program at risk.âÄù