Political Quotes

“Mr. President, before Senator Casey leaves the floor, I just want to make a couple of remarks, as the senior Democrat on the Finance Committee, a ranking member. I particularly want to praise Senator Casey for being our go-to person on the whole issue of Medicaid. Ever since we began to see the substantial cuts in 2017, as Senator Casey knows, he has been the person we have said is our go-to leader for the most vulnerable Americans who count on Medicaid being there for them. I want to tell a short story about one of Senator Casey's many contributions to those who find Medicaid to be just a healthcare lifeline. When the Trump administration began its attack on Medicaid benefits, I had been the director of the Gray Panthers at home before I got involved in public service, and a lot of folks came to me. They said: Ron, that probably isn't a big deal for seniors because Medicare covers most of those nursing home bills. And I had to say: Gosh, that is really not the case. Medicare really covers only a small fraction of nursing home bills. It covers the bills that are essentially for hospital-like services, and most of nursing home care in America really ends up getting picked up by Medicaid. Something like two out of every three beds in long-term care facilities, which are custodial facilities, end up being funded by Medicaid.…”