Washington, DC – As the House Energy and Commerce Committee meets today for a markup aimed at cutting Medicaid, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is slamming the latest step by Republicans to terminate health insurance for millions of Americans.
“Republicans are readying to plow ahead with hundreds of billion in cuts to Medicaid, so they can fund even more tax giveaways to the wealthy and big corporations,” said Whitehouse, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid. “Rhode Islanders rely on Medicaid for childbirth, addiction treatment, nursing home care, and so much more. These disastrous cuts would destabilize hospitals and entire health care systems. I will do everything in my power to protect Rhode Islanders’ health care from these cruel and dangerous cuts.”
In February, Republicans passed a budget plan directing the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the congressional committee responsible for overseeing Medicaid, to make $880 billion in cuts. In March, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed the cuts Republicans are proposing can only be found by slashing Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. A recent analysis from the CBO found that the House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans’ bill would leave at least 13.7 million Americans uninsured.
Medicaid provides funding to states for services at nursing homes, doctors’ offices, and hospitals for low-income elderly adults, children, pregnant women, veterans, and people with disabilities. Medicaid also provides critical home health and school-based services as well as addiction and mental health services.
Nearly 80 million Americans – including over 330,000 Rhode Islanders or about 30 percent of the state’s population – are enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, making it the largest public health insurance program in the United States.
