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Congressman Doyle Opposes Medicaid Cuts
Washington, D.C. - October 5, 2005 - U.S. Representative Mike Doyle
(PA-14) stated his strong opposition to substantial cuts in Medicaid
last night. Medicaid is a joint state-federal program that provides health
insurance for the poor.
“The solution to a broken health care system is not to further penalize the poorest, most vulnerable members of our society by cutting their health insurance,” Congressman Doyle said yesterday. “Congress can and should do better than that. I am deeply committed to the goal of ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health care – and I believe that the first step in that direction consists of maintaining Medicaid’s role as a safety net for the most vulnerable members of our society. We should – at the very least – observe Hippocrates’ injunction to “do no harm.”
The Congressional Budget Resolution governing federal spending for 2006 required that $10 billion in cuts be made in the federal contribution to the Medicaid program. Congressman Doyle voted against this budget resolution and opposes the proposed cuts in Medicaid.
Congressman Doyle made his remarks last night at a town hall meeting organized by the Medicaid Coalition and the Pennsylvania State Council of the Service Employees International Union. He joined a number of healthcare workers and providers, Medicaid policy experts, and community advocates in opposing these Medicaid cuts. The town hall meeting was held at the Community College of Allegheny County’s Boyce Campus in Monroeville.
“Medicaid is one of our society’s essential safety net programs, and it’s growing in importance as a million Americans a year lose their employer-provided health insurance benefits,” Congressman Doyle said. “The biggest problem that Medicaid faces is the fact that so many Americans are being pushed out of the middle class into poverty.”
“Enactment of the Medicaid program 40 years ago was one of the most important milestones in our country’s long journey toward a fair, compassionate society,” Doyle added. “Medicaid has had a monumental positive impact on the lives of millions of the poorest, most vulnerable members of our society. Combined with Medicare, Medicaid has brought an important element of health security to our society. Between them, these two programs provide health insurance to more than a quarter of all Americans. Both programs serve populations that would be unable to secure affordable, high quality health care without them. If modernizing Medicaid can generate savings, I strongly believe those savings should be put right back into the program to ensure adequate treatment is provided to everyone who is currently eligible.”