According to the New York Times, last Wednesday two-thirds of Republicans in the House joined with every voting Democrat to block a White House proposal that would cut $13 billion from Medicaid over the next five years.
This vote came less than a week after lawyers for the Government Accountability Office told the administration it had violated federal law in restricting states’ rights to expand coverage in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to middle income families.
At a time when states are suffering from sinking sales and property tax revenues on top of previous cuts in federal spending, the president wants to penalize the country’s most vulnerable citizens. How can a man who claims to be pro-life be so callous about the lives of people we can see and touch?
The Medicaid budget needs to be trimmed, but making such cuts during this time of economic distress will lead to death for some who will be cut from the rolls. A shift toward more preventive care and better efficiency to eliminate duplication and errors is a more humane solution.
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