Dear Senator Nickles and Senator Comad:
Medicaid provides essential health coverage to 47 million low-income children, workingfamilies, seniors, and people with disabilities. This critical safety net program also contributessignificantly to state economies by stimulating employment and business activity.
As you know, the House-passed budget resolution includes a reconciliation instruction requiringan estimated $92 billion in cuts to Medicaid funding over ten years. Neither the Senate budgetresolution nor the Administration budget includes any such cuts to Medicaid.
States are currently facing the most severe budget crisis since World War II and nearly everystate has proposed or enacted cuts to its Medicaid program. Any reduction in federal Medicaidfunding would place millions of vulnerable Americans now receiving Medicaid injeopardy oflosing their health coverage. Federal funding reductions would force states to implement evendeeper cuts by restricting eligibility, eliminating or reducing critical health benefits, and severelycutting or freezing provider reimbursement rates. As a result, Medicaid funding cuts would addmillions more to the ranks of the uninsured.
We, the undersigned Senators, write to express our strong opposition to the inclusion of anyMedicaid cuts in the final budget resolution. Cutting federal Medicaid funding would addmillions more to the growing ranks of 41 million uninsured Americans, even as Medicaid is mostneeded during an economic downturn.
The Senate has recently voted overwhelmingly to support state fiscal relief efforts, to keep statesfrom having to cut eligibility or further reduce provider payments under their Medicaidprograms. The and scope of any relief efforts will be considered by the Senate FinanceCommittee and the Senate as a whole.
We are calling on you, as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, toreject the inclusion of any Medicaid cuts as part of the final budget resolution.
Sincerely,
Max Baucus Ranking Member
Charles E. Grassley Chairman
