Budget Committee Cutbacks of Medicaid Require

Proposed Cutbacks Are Packaged Deceptively to Mask Much Larger Cutbacks of

Washinton, D.C. - The Senate and House Budget Committees are marking up the Budget Resolution today. The Senate Budget Committee is expected to propose a Medicaid cut of $14 billion over the next five years, and the House Budget Committee is proposing to cut the program by at least as much, possibly more. 

The following is the statement of Ron Pollack, Executive Director of the health care consumer organization Families USA, about the Budget Committee's proposed cutbacks of Medicaid:

"The Budget Committees are playing a very deceptive and harmful game that will result in much larger Medicaid cuts than the Bush Administration proposed. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Bush Administration's Medicaid cutback proposals will reduce federal funding to the states by $7.6 billion over the next five years and the Budget Committees now propose to virtually double those cuts.

"Over the next ten years, as the impacts of these changes grow, these cutbacks will be considerably larger and, again, the Budget Committees' actions will result in much larger cutbacks than the actions proposed by the Bush Administration.

"Thus, if the Budget Resolution proposed by the Budget Committees is adopted, there is a significant likelihood that arbitrary spending limits will be established for Medicaid such as a block grant or a cap on program spending.

"At a time when states are already straining to pay for their existing Medicaid programs, the proposals by the Budget Committees will shift a large and unbearable burden onto the states. As a result, seniors and children who count on Medicaid for their health safety net will tragically be at risk of losing their health coverage."

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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