Political Quotes

“The second point is that the Medicaid Program requires a base of financing in order to meet its current needs and to be able to assume the new responsibilities which clearly lie just over the horizon. As the Senator from Massachusetts pointed out, the proposal of the Republicans will reduce the total funds available for Medicaid over the next 7 years not just by the some $70 to $80 billion that will be eliminated at the Federal level but by a figure of close to $250 billion because the amount that will be asked of the States in their contribution to participate in the Medicaid Program will be so reduced. Mr. President, I do not believe any serious analysis of the challenges facing Medicaid could come to the conclusion that we can meet the health care needs of Americans with a $250 billion reduction in funds available in the fundamental safety net program of our national health care system, Medicaid. In fact, there are a number of factors that are going to put Medicaid under greater pressure.”