Political Quotes

“57 years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Medicare and Medicaid Act. By increasing healthcare access for elderly and low-income Americans, this act was a giant leap forward in building a more perfect Union. Today, nearly 64 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare, and over 83 million Americans receive assistance from Medicaid. We know that these programs are highly effective. Extensive research shows that Medicaid coverage is associated with a range of positive health outcomes. Medicare and Medicaid save lives. Medicare and Medicaid also have considerable economic benefits. Medicaid significantly helps reduce poverty and has been tied to economic mobility across generations and higher educational attainment, income, and taxes paid. Despite the benefits of Medicare and Medicaid, my Republican colleagues are trying to dismantle these programs. In 2018, a House Republican budget proposed slashing $537 billion from Medicare over a decade. Yet, while House Republicans try to gut Medicare and Medicaid, House Democrats are working to expand these programs to more Americans. {time} 1215 I am fighting particularly hard to improve Medicare and Medicaid in my district of the Virgin Islands of the United States and the other U.S. territories, which have long suffered from healthcare inequities. Before 2017, in the Virgin Islands, nearly 30 percent of residents didn't have health insurance.…”