Over 140 Groups Urge Congress to Reject Medicaid Cuts

House Budget Bill Will Harm America’s Most Vulnerable People

Washington, D.C. – In a letter sent today to every member of Congress, 142 organizations expressed their opposition to the House version of the budget reconciliation bill because of the harm it would cause low-income Medicaid beneficiaries.

The letter asks Congress to reject all provisions that harm Medicaid beneficiaries. In particular, the letter expressed the groups’ opposition to provisions that would increase out-of-pocket costs and decrease Medicaid coverage for low-income children, seniors, people with disabilities, parents, and pregnant women.

In addition to the consumer health organization Families USA, other signatories of the letter included health provider organizations (e.g., the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association); disability and disease organizations (e.g., the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Diabetes Association, Easter Seals, the Epilepsy Foundation, the National Mental Health Association, United Cerebral Palsy); organizations representing children (e.g., the Alliance for Children and Families, the Child Welfare League of America, March of Dimes, Voices for America’s Children); organizations representing seniors (e.g., the Alliance for Retired Americans, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, the National Council on Aging); labor (the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU); and others.

“As the holidays approach, Congress should not play Scrooge by endangering the health care coverage for America’s neediest people,” said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. “The House budget reconciliation bill would cause enormous harm for people who need health care the most, and the passage of such legislation would be a most unseemly Christmas package.”

Read the letters sent to the House and Senate.

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Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

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202-628-3030 · Email: info@familiesusa.org · www.familiesusa.org