A Bridgeport pastor says he and his fellow clergy are reporting "a dramatic rise" in the number of people scared about losing Medicaid and Social Security benefits.

Charlie Stallworth, of the East End Baptist Tabernacle, says he's part of a coalition of religious leaders. He says they're all reporting a spike in fears among churchgoers.

"You take people who are elderly, they are dependent on Medicare and Social Security to get them through and now they wonder what's going to happen because they see so much lack of care, so much hate," Stallworth says. "The mindset is, 'Will I have coverage? What's going to happen if I get sick or I already have an illness? What's going to happen? Can I continue to see my doctor?' And it's not this time a matter of choosing, whether it's Obamacare or not, but this is a matter of something versus nothing."

Stallworth adds that the worries come amid billions of dollars in cuts to federal safety-net programs like Medicaid and possibly Social Security.