House Republican Budget Slashes Medicare and Medicaid for Pennsylvanians

Pennsylvania Will Lose More than $37.8 Billion in Medicaid Funding over the Next 10 Years, and Children, Seniors, and People with Disabilities Will Lose Needed Care

As Medicare Is Privatized and Converted to a Voucher Program, Seniors Will Pay Thousands of Dollars More for Their Health Care

Today, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveiled the House Republican budget proposal. The following is the statement of Ron Pollack, Executive Director of the consumer health organization Families USA, about that development:

“At the same time that the Republican budget extends tax breaks for the rich, it slashes Medicare and Medicaid.

“Medicare will be privatized and converted to a voucher program, and, in the process, seniors will be forced to pay thousands of dollars more in out-of-pocket Medicare costs.

“Pennsylvania will lose more than $37.8 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the next 10 years that will inevitably cause children with autism to be denied care, adults with spinal cord injuries to lose crucial home- and community-based services,and seniors with Alzheimer’s to be denied nursing home coverage.

“More than 1 million middle-class Pennsylvanians are eligible for health premium tax credits starting in 2014. This budget eliminates those tax credits, which both increases their taxes and makes health insurance unaffordable for many of those families.

“The Republican budget is a perfect example of budget class warfare—with the richest receiving more and more while the middle class and poor lose their health lifeline.”

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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.

1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 1100 · Washington, DC 20005
202-628-3030 · Email: info@familiesusa.org · www.familiesusa.org