In
a
new
letter,
344
organizations
urged
the
new
Congress
—
which
was
sworn
in
on
Jan.
3
—
to
protect
and
strengthen
Medicaid.
The
letter
was
addressed
to
Senate
Majority
Leader
John
Thune,
House
Speaker
Mike
Johnson,
Senate
Minority
Leader
Chuck
Schumer
and
House
Minority
Leader
Hakeem
Jeffries.
Families
USA,
a
healthcare
consumer
advocacy
organization,
led
the
charge
for
the
letter.
Other
organizations
that
signed
the
letter
include
the
National
Alliance
on
Mental
Illness,
March
of
Dimes,
UnidosUS
and
the
Center
for
Health
Law
and
Policy
Innovation.
It
comes
as
several
Republican
legislative
proposals
aim
to
tighten
Medicaid
by
eliminating
or
significantly
underfunding
the
ACA
Medicaid
expansion,
according
to
the
Center
on
Budget
and
Policy
Priorities,
a
nonpartisan
research
and
policy
institute.
The
proposals
aim
to
do
this
by
restructuring
and
cutting
federal
funding
for
the
program,
or
undermining
long-standing
protections
for
enrollees.
In
the
letter,
the
organizations
noted
that
Medicaid
is
an
important
source
of
health
and
economic
security
for
80
million
Americans,
insures
38
million
children
and
covers
40%
of
births
in
the
U.S.
“The
importance
of
Medicaid
cannot
be
overstated.
…
It
is
the
single
most
important
source
of
financial
support
that
keeps
rural
hospitals
open
to
serve
the
health
needs
of
their
communities,”
the
organizations
stated.
“It
ensures
people
with
disabilities
can
access
critical
home
and
community-based
services
and
secure
meaningful
job
opportunities.
It
is
the
largest
payer
of
behavioral
health
services
in
the
country,
providing
essential
access
to
mental
health
and
substance
use
disorder
care.
And
it
helps
working
people
stay
healthy
so
they
can
afford
to
feed
their
families
and
send
their
kids
to
school.”
In
addition,
they
declared
that
cutting
Medicaid
was
not
something
Americans
asked
for
during
the
2024
election
cycle.
Doing
so
would
put
costs
on
working
class
families
and
betray
constituents,
they
argued.
“Proposals
to
cap
funding,
reduce
the
federal
share
of
Medicaid
spending,
establish
block
grants,
institute
work
reporting
and
community
engagement
requirements,
cut
state
revenue
from
provider
taxes
or
otherwise
undermine
the
fundamental
structure
of
the
Medicaid
program
all
have
the
same
effect,”
the
letter
stated.
“If
instituted,
Americans
will
lose
access
to
lifesaving
services,
states
will
be
strapped
with
massive
budget
holes,
hospitals
and
clinics
will
lose
revenues
and
be
forced
to
cut
staff
and
scale
back
services,
and
American
families
and
workers
will
be
unable
to
afford
essential
care
and
get
sicker
—
leading
to
a
loss
in
productivity
and
the
economy
suffering
as
a
result.”
The
organizations
added
that
if
the
119th
Congress
wants
to
lower
healthcare
costs,
“there
are
many
well-vetted,
commonsense
and
bipartisan
proposals
to
address
inefficiencies
and
inflated
prices
and
eliminate
waste
from
the
health
care
system.”
According
to
Families
USA,
these
proposals
include
closing
legal
loopholes
that
allow
drug
companies
to
increase
drug
costs,
strengthening
hospital
and
health
plan
price
transparency
and
reforming
physician
payment.
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