Political Quotes

“We have more than 50 million low-income people--about 1 out of 6 Americans--depend on Medicaid for their health care. These are the poorest of the poor. This administration has issued a series of regulations that will undermine the Medicaid safety net and create barriers for accessing care for the poorest of the poor. These regulations, touted by the administration as ``savings,'' would not lower health care costs. Instead States--already facing tough economic times, strained budgets, and increased demand for services such as Medicaid--will either have to raise revenues elsewhere or be forced to cut services to our Nation's most vulnerable at a time when they need help the most. Each regulation has different impact on individuals, providers, communities, and States. They include, among other things, detrimental provisions, such as limiting services for people with disabilities; preventing children from receiving health care during the schoolday; cutting payments to public hospitals and other safety net providers for such undertakings as emergency rooms, burn units, and trauma centers. The administration claims these regulations are necessary to fight fraud and waste in the Medicaid Program. But in a recent hearing on the Medicaid Program, the General Accounting Office testified it did not recommend the administration's proposed changes. They would not help. We are committed to ferreting out any fraud that may exist in the Medicaid Program.”