Advocates for People in Medicaid Call on Congress to Protect Vulnerable Communities from Harmful Deficit Reduction Proposals

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Conference Audio: http://bit.ly/lhnDrG

On Thursday, civil rights advocates and health care experts participated in a press conference call to warn that proposals to restructure Medicaid or severely cap federal contributions to the program through block grants, balanced budget amendments or other deficit reduction mechanisms would have a devastating impact on America’s most vulnerable populations – people of color, seniors, children, and people with disabilities.

Medicaid provides health coverage to about 58 million low- to moderate-income children, parents and pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities, and it is administered by the states and the federal government. Under current law, the federal government pays a fixed percentage of a state’s Medicaid costs. States must meet certain requirements in their Medicaid programs in order to receive federal funding, but they also have significant flexibility in the way they structure their Medicaid programs.

Despite Medicaid’s success, some policymakers—including members of Congress—are considering proposals that would have serious and potentially catastrophic consequences for those who depend on Medicaid and their families.

Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said the cuts being contemplated would have a disproportionately severe impact for communities of color, which account for 56 percent of the total Medicaid population and a significant share of the most vulnerable groups served by the program, as documented by a new Leadership Conference issue brief.

“Medicaid is one of the most important health care, anti-poverty and civil rights programs in American history,” Henderson said. “When it comes to safeguarding vulnerable populations, Medicaid—along with Social Security and Medicare—is one of the bedrock elements of a just society, and one that every American has a stake in protecting.”

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said, “It’s important to remember that Medicaid serves both low-income children and families, as well as seniors and people with disabilities. Many people don’t know that Medicaid is the largest payer of nursing home and other long-term care. Again, this not just affects the needs of people in nursing homes and long-term care, but it affects middle-class families.”

“People throughout the world look up to the United States because of what we’ve done for people with disabilities,” said Tony Coelho, board chair of the American Association of People with Disabilities and a former Congressman. “Medicaid is critical for health care for eight million people with disabilities. It’s inhuman for us to consider these types of changes in our social programs when there are so many other ways of reducing deficits.”

“As Congress considers proposals to reduce spending in Medicaid, we want to join others in emphasizing the importance of this program to older Americans and their families,” said Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of State and National Group at AARP. “Significant cuts to Medicaid will harm individuals and families who rely on Medicaid for health or long-term services and supports, including people whose life savings have been wiped out from the high costs of long-term care services.”

Linda Guzman, a single parent from Chapel Hill, N.C., ended the call by telling how Medicaid provides essential support for her and her 17-year-old son, who has autism and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).

“Medicaid is a lifeline for millions of families like mine, and I’m scared that lifeline could be taken away,” Guzman said. “Thanks to Medicaid, I’ve been able to continue working and my son is receiving the care I otherwise couldn’t afford to give him. I only hope someone in Washington is paying attention to what really matters.”

“We understand that the budget deficit is a serious issue,” Henderson said. “But depriving vulnerable populations of essential health care violates American’s deeply held shared values. Children, people with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women – these should be the last people our government demands sacrifice from when there are so many better alternatives for putting our fiscal house in order.”