Families USA led a letter urging the new Congress, which was sworn in on Jan. 3, to protect Medicaid.
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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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