FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Monday, February 4, 2008
CONTACT: Debbie Curtis, Office of Pete Stark (202) 225-5065

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Pete Stark (D-CA), Chairman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, responded to the President’s budget submission for fiscal year 2009. The budget proposes to cut more than $600 billion out of the Medicare and Medicaid programs over ten years, with more than a half a trillion cut coming from Medicare alone.

“President Bush’s policies have been a fiscal train wreck, and now he is trying to conjure up the façade of fiscal discipline on the backs of seniors, people with disabilities, low-income children and families.

“Bush’s proposed Medicare cuts would come almost exclusively from traditional Medicare providers, with hospitals being the largest target. These cuts far exceed even those in the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997, which ultimately required Congress to enact two subsequent laws mitigating the BBA policies.

“This budget again reveals the Republican agenda to starve the Medicare program while protecting the profits of insurance companies. Republicans’ ultimate goal is to privatize Medicare.

“Stated politely, the proposals for Medicaid reflect an economic tin ear, with cuts to health care for low-income families at the very time we’re trying to enact an economic stimulus to help these same people. President Bush’s budget proposal to ‘help’ lower health care costs actually increases taxes for many Americans.

“I would say I’m shocked and appalled, but this budget is just more of the same recycled, tired ideas we’ve seen since he took office seven years ago. Thankfully, with a Democratic Congress in place, we have no worries of this budget going anywhere,” concluded Rep. Stark.

The President’s FY09 budget submission includes legislative cuts to Medicare of $178 billion over five years and $556 billion over ten years. While the Medicare cuts are focused primarily on hospitals that train physicians and serve low-income people, they also hit the spectrum of traditional fee-for-service providers including, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospice, ambulance, ambulatory surgical centers, durable medical equipment and clinical labs. In addition, Bush proposes to erode Medicare’s broad base by raising costs for certain beneficiaries. The President also embraces the pending deep physician fee cuts by failing to address the problem in this budget.

The legislative cuts to Medicaid reach $18 billion over five years and nearly $47 billion over ten years. Overall, the legislative cuts to Medicare and Medicaid exceed $600 billion over ten years, with billions more in regulatory cuts.