Recently, the Republican controlled House of Representatives and the Senate passed their Budget Resolutions along party-line votes setting the stage for reconciliation between the two chambers. Both Budget Resolutions plan to make significant spending cuts in federal programs, including Medicaid. More specifically, it is undeniable that the bulk of the proposed $880 billion dollars in cuts will come from Medicaid if the Senate agrees with the House’s spending plan. This will result in shifting to state and county budgets a dramatic increase in the number of our friends and neighbors losing their health care coverage.
These Budget Resolutions break a promise to more than 70 million Americans who depend on Medicaid for access to both physical and mental health care. These Americans, many of whom live in Pennsylvania, are not “parasites” despite being referred to as such by representatives of the Trump Administration. These people are the most vulnerable members in our communities. What is being proposed represents nothing less than taking access to health care from the poor to further benefit the rich through tax breaks. Failure to protect access to health care is both morally reprehensible and fiscally near-sighted. The moral implications speak for themselves. Economically, this cost-shifting to state and county budgets will be fiscally devastating across all communities in Pennsylvania. Surely, we can do better than what is currently being negotiated between these two chambers. Please call Representative Thompson (202-225-5121) or Meuser (202-225-6511) as well as Senator McCormick (202-224-6324) and Fetterman (202-224-4254) to protect Medicaid.
Timothy Knoster (signed by Joan Moreau)