![](media/image1.jpeg){width="7.252083333333333in"
height="1.6979166666666667in"}

***For Immediate Release*           CONTACT:** Jim Manley, 202-224-2939\
April 21, 2005

**DEMOCRATIC LEADERS FIGHT TO PROTECT MEDICAID**

**Medicaid: Strengthening Our Health Care Safety Net**

Today, Democratic leaders gathered to discuss a crucial public health
issue, strengthening our health care safety net at the same time as the
future of this program hangs in the balance.  New York Senator Hillary
Rodham Clinton, chair of the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee,
welcomed Democratic leaders from the House and the Senate as well as
Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan to discuss the importance of
Medicaid and to press the budget conferees to protect the program.  Also
in attendance were Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Finance Committee, Ranking
Member, Senator John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), Ranking Member of the
Finance Subcommittee on Health and Chair of the Democratic Working Group
on Medicaid, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Senator Debbie Stabenow
(D-MI), Representative John Dingell (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Energy
and Commerce Committee, Representative Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking
Member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, and
Representative Stephanie Herseth (D-SD).  Democrats were also joined by
Peter Thomas, Co-Chair of the Health Task Force for the Consortium for
People with Disabilities and Phyllis Craig, a Maine resident whose
brother has Alzheimer's and benefits from Medicaid, and Fran Kuhns, CEO
of Senior Services of Pennsylvania.  

These leaders and beneficiaries met to discuss the impact of proposed
cuts to Medicaid.  President Bush unveiled his fiscal year 2006 budget
proposal that contained a devastating \$60 billion cut to Medicaid over
the next decade and today Senate and House budget conferees are
negotiating how deep the cuts to Medicaid may be. The House bill
includes a \$20 billion cut to Medicaid, while the Senate restored
funding for the program. The budgets approved by the two houses of
Congress must be reconciled for Congress to pass a budget.

"We all agree that Medicaid must be strengthened, but slashing funding
does nothing to address Medicaid's challenges.  It is unconscionable and
ultimately counterproductive to try to balance the budget on the backs
of the most vulnerable Americans," said Senator Clinton.  "We will fight
to prevent these cuts and start laying the groundwork for real reform."

Medicaid is a crucial safety net for more than 50 million children,
pregnant women, senior citizens, and people with disabilities.  As our
nation's health care system faces the dual challenges of rapidly
increasing costs and a growing number of uninsured Americans, Medicaid
becomes all the more necessary.  Given the importance of this program to
millions of our most vulnerable constituents, changes to Medicaid must
not be guided by arbitrary goals for savings and reconciliation
targets. 

"The federal government must resist cutting Medicaid," said Governor
Granholm.  "You should not shift costs to the states as part of
budget-deficit reduction and states should not be forced by the federal
government to choose between funding programs for grandparents versus
grandchildren."

Senator John D. Rockefeller said, "Today\'s gathering of elected
officials, health care providers, and Medicaid recipients underscores
the vital role of Medicaid in our health care system.  Medicaid provides
a federal guarantee of health insurance coverage for our nation\'s most
vulnerable citizens \-- our children, our low-income working families,
our elderly, and our disabled.  Medicaid is also the foundation of our
health care infrastructure through its support of hospitals, doctors,
community health centers, and nursing homes in every state throughout
the country.  The bottom line is that we should strengthen, not weaken,
Medicaid."

 

A majority of the Senate has already rejected reducing funding by voting
to strip the Budget Resolution of any Medicaid cuts.   Similarly, a
majority of the House of Representatives opposes cutting the program, as
demonstrated by solid Democratic opposition to cuts combined with last
week's letter signed by 44 Republican Members of Congress, urging
Chairman Nussle to remove Medicaid reductions from the Budget
Resolution.

"I am deeply concerned about the proposed cuts to the Medicaid program,"
Senator Max Baucus said.  "The program is a lifeline to more than 50
million recipients, particularly seniors and people with disabilities. 
Bringing together government officials, providers, and beneficiaries to
this Medicaid forum highlights the program's importance to our nation's
health care system.  As the budget conference convenes, I will do
everything in my power to ensure Medicaid will be protected in the final
budget."

The Members of Congress, Governor Granholm and leaders from the
community discussed the long term challenge facing the system.  They
also discussed the ways that Congress could work in a bipartisan way to
find solutions to making Medicaid more cost efficient without slashing
its funding. 

"Medicaid suffers not so much from 'inefficiency' or 'rigidity' but from
rising health care and prescription drug costs, increased enrollment due
to declining employer-sponsored coverage, rising numbers of uninsured
due to the Nation\'s economic woes, and an aging society," said
Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy
and Commerce. "Rather than cut the program, we should shore it up. If we
do not, states will have no choice but to raise taxes or cut coverage to
some of the most vulnerable in our society."

###