The Lancaster Early Education Center, a nonprofit serving children from low- and moderate-income families, will begin expansion of its facility this summer.

According to new data from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, 40 percent of kids in rural Pennsylvania get health care through Medicaid. This new research shows that a bigger share of Pennsylvania residents in small towns and rural areas receive help from Medicaid than in urban areas.

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Sen. Bob Casey returned to the state on Friday to hammer the Republican health care bill in the U.S. Senate, saying it poses a foundational retrenchment of Medicaid that could have a dramatic, long-term effect on American society.

“We know $100 million is a lot of money – in any year,” Joan Benso, of the Campaign for Fair Education Funding said during a mid-morning rally, referring to the increase in the state’s basic education subsidy her group wants and that Gov. Tom Wolf included in his February budget proposal.

The AHCA makes huge cuts to Medicaid – a program that covers 1.2 million Pennsylvanian children and is a lifeline that keeps our hospitals and doctor’s offices running and ensures our most vulnerable residents can get care.