Jeff Bingaman: “I rise to speak briefly in support of the motion that I understand is to be made by the Senator from Montana, Mr.…”

“I rise to speak briefly in support of the motion that I understand is to be made by the Senator from Montana, Mr. Baucus, who is here on the floor, to instruct conferees with respect to the Medicaid Program. The motion to instruct conferees on the Medicaid Program highlights one of the many ways in which the House of Representatives budget reconciliation bill radically departs from the Senate bill. Let me spend a very few minutes highlighting the differences between the House and Senate packages on Medicaid, particularly with regard to the health of children. The contrast between the two bills could not be more stark. The Senate bill arguably improves coverage of children through the inclusion of the Family Opportunity Act that provides a State option to expand Medicaid coverage to children with disabilities and through inclusion of outreach and enrollment funding based on legislation that Senator Frist and I introduced earlier this year. In sharp contrast, however, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the House budget reconciliation package imposes increased cost sharing on low-income Medicaid beneficiaries and reduces health services by $6.5 billion over 5 years and by $30.1 billion over 10 years. For children, the impact of the House bill would be devastating. Medicaid covers more than 27 million children, almost one in four in this country.…”