One Million Children Could Lose Coverage Under House Medicaid Cuts
Posted on: Wednesday, 9 November 2005, 12:00 CST
OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- New Medicaid premiums would result in an estimated one million children losing health coverage nationwide, according to research by PICO National Network, a faith-based organization that works to expand access to health care.
The House budget set for vote on Thursday cuts $6.5 billion by allowing states to charge low-income children and families new premiums and co-pays and by reducing their benefits. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 55 percent of the $12 billion in cuts to Medicaid in the House bill come directly from beneficiaries, not from cracking down on waste and abuse.
"It is morally indefensible to look to working families to shoulder the bulk of the cost-savings in our public health programs. Controlling spending by cutting low-income children from health care puts the House out of step with the Senate, the President's Medicaid Commission and basic notions of American fairness," said Rev. Wallace Hartsfield Vice President of the National Baptist Convention, Pastor of Missionary Baptist Church in Kansas City and a leader in PICO National Network, which is leading a campaign to protect and expand health care opportunities for children and families.
Under the House budget six million children who live just above the poverty level would be exposed to new access fees that could reach up to five percent of their family income. A family of three living on $21,500 could be asked to pay $1,078 yearly.
One million children whose families could not afford new premiums would be expected to lose health coverage, based on an analysis by PICO National Network entitled Do No Harm: The impact of access fees on children's health. Almost all children who lose Medicaid coverage will be left without insurance and children who lose coverage because their families cannot afford premiums would be denied even preventive care.
The House bill includes funding of a GAO study of the impact of premiums and cost-sharing on access to health services. But the study would be completed after hundreds of thousands of children have already lost their health coverage and there is already 30 years of research showing that premiums and access fees depress participation.
The House is out of step with the Senate and the President's Medicaid Commission, both of which rejected most cost-sharing and benefit reductions to cut spending.
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PICO National Network represents one thousand faith communities and one million families. PICO is asking House members to vote against any budget reconciliation that increases the number of uninsured children and reduces access to health care.
For more information see http://www.piconetwork.org/Resources/ DoNoHarm.pdf
http://www.usnewswire.com
Source: U.S. Newswire
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