Leader Schumer And Top Budget Senate Dems Call On Senate Republicans To Commit To Protecting Medicaid for 80 Million Americans
Washington, D.C – Today, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Ranking Member of the Budget Committee, Jeff Merkley (D-OR) sent the following letter to Republican Leader John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Chairman of Finance Committee, Mike Crapo (R-ID) demanding to know how Senate Republicans are going to reduce the deficit without cutting Medicaid.
Today, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Ranking Member of the Budget Committee Jeff Merkley (D-OR) sent the following letter to Republican Leader John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Chairman of Finance Committee Mike Crapo (R-ID) demanding to know how Senate Republicans are going to reduce the deficit in the Finance Committee’s jurisdiction by at least one billion dollars without terminating Americans’ Medicaid. Though Senate Republicans insist they won’t touch the program, it is clear that this reconciliation bill will have far-reaching and dramatic impacts on American families, including rising health care costs and cutting health care access for millions, all to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and wealthy corporations.
The reconciliation bill “will endanger the nation’s seniors, veterans, children, people with disabilities by making it harder for them to get care when they really need it,” wrote the Senators. “The impacts of these proposals are catastrophic – and when Republicans kick people off of Medicaid and let marketplace tax credits expire, the whole healthcare system suffers. People with all kinds of insurance will see their costs go up, and a greater number of uninsured people will strain all kinds of healthcare providers.”
The full text of the letter can be seen here and below.
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Leader Thune, Chairman Graham and Chairman Crapo,
Last month, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a budget resolution to fast track Trump’s agenda to make staggering cuts to American families’ health care. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the budget resolution’s requirement that Congress cut a minimum of nearly $1 trillion in the Energy & Commerce Committee would come almost entirely from Medicaid.
As soon as this work period, Republicans in the Senate will take up this resolution, which will serve as the basis for a partisan reconciliation bill that will advance through the Committees you chair. As required by House Republicans’ extreme budget resolution, this bill will terminate health insurance and raise costs for millions of Americans–all to pay for tax cuts for wealthy corporations and billionaires, like Elon Musk. Any such bill endangers the nation’s seniors, veterans, children, and people with disabilities, and will make it harder for all Americans to access and afford the health care they need.
Catastrophic cuts of any hundreds of billions will cause millions of Americans to suffer, shutter rural hospitals and nursing homes, and decimate state budgets and local economies. Democrats are steadfast in our opposition to House Republicans’ plans to kick millions off of Medicaid and take tax credits away from middle-class families who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. The effects of House Republicans’ planned cuts are numerous:
? Families lose health coverage, and uninsured people delay care and get sicker. Many Americans who are uninsured cannot afford primary care, so they delay treatment and end up in the emergency room, meaning they are getting help too late. Hospitals won’t turn these people away, and treating uninsured individuals costs the system more money. Republican cuts to Medicaid expansion could trigger automatic coverage loss for more than 3 million Americans in 9 states, with further coverage loss likely nationwide.
? Hospitals, doctors offices and nursing homes close. Medicaid is a lifeline for communities across the country, including for many rural hospitals, allowing such health care providers to make ends meet. The loss of the Affordable Care Act tax credits for people who buy insurance on their own means people face premium spikes that cause them to drop coverage, leading to uncompensated care and higher costs for hospitals and other health care providers.
? Communities lose jobs and face an economic downturn. Expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credits means 286,000 jobs lost nationwide and $34 billion lost in GDP. In many communities, a hospital or nursing home is the largest employer. Terminating Medicaid and forcing closures will mean more jobs lost.
? States lose federal funding. Medicaid cuts will create a vast hole in state budgets, forcing them to raise taxes, cut people and benefits from Medicaid, reduce reimbursement rates to providers, or cut other parts of their budget, such as K-12 education and public safety. In many states, counties will shoulder additional financial responsibilities to provide needed services.
House Republicans' planned cuts will hurt people in communities across the country, forcing Governors and state legislatures to slash services, driving hospitals and doctors’ offices to close, and plunging Americans deeper into sickness and financial ruin. As the Chairs of the Senate Committees on Budget and Finance, you are positioned to stop these catastrophic cuts to Americans’ health care. As Trump and Republicans advance a partisan reconciliation bill to give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, Democrats seek your commitment to ensure that:
? No person with Medicaid loses health coverage.
? No person loses Medicaid benefits, like home-based care and prescription drug coverage.
? No person with Medicaid must jump through onerous hoops to get care.
? No rural hospital, nursing home or other essential health care provider closes their doors.
? No senior living in a nursing home goes without quality, safe care.
? No child faces annual or lifetime coverage lock-outs.
? No senior or person with a disability on Medicaid pays higher Medicare premiums.
? No veteran, senior, person with a disability, child, parent or family caregiver is harmed.
? No person who buys their own health insurance pays higher premiums.
? No person is made sicker because they have no health insurance.
American families deserve no less than these commitments, which you are empowered to deliver. Veterans, seniors, children, and people with disabilities should not shoulder the cost of a partisan tax bill fueled by corporate greed. We urge you–do not pay for tax cuts for the wealthy by ripping away health insurance, making Americans sicker, and raising health care costs.
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