DeLauro: Reconciliation Bill Puts Special Interests Ahead of Families
DeLauro: Reconciliation Bill Puts Special Interests Ahead of Families
- After President Pledges to Expand Health Care, Bill Provides $22 Billion
Give-away to Health Care Industry, Cuts 65,000 Medicaid Beneficiaries -
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) today said the budget reconciliation conference report passed by the U.S. House puts special interests ahead of families. Following the president's State of the Union address, where he pledged to expand health care, the bill includes a $22 billion give-away to the health insurance industry that was agreed to behind closed doors with no Democrats in the room. In a report released last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said that new fees imposed on Medicaid beneficiaries under the bill would end insurance coverage for 65,000 beneficiaries, 60 percent of them children. Forty six million Americans lack heath insurance, an increase of 6 million since 2000.
"This bill puts special interests ahead of families who are working hard and deserve relief from skyrocketing health care costs," said DeLauro. "Less than 24 hours after the president's call to expand health care in his State of the Union address, the House Republican leadership worked to pass a bill that imposes new costs and higher premiums on poor children and working families. It reduces care for 1.6 million Americans and will kick 65,000 Americans off of Medicaid - many of whom are working but do not receive health care through their employer."
The budget reconciliation bill includes $39.7 billion in spending cuts, which will be wiped out by $106 billion of tax cuts Republicans intend to pass in separate legislation. The bill includes:
# $12.7 billion in cuts to student aid programs, including raising the cost of college for students and their families through increased interest rates and loan fees.
# $6.4 billion in Medicare cuts to health services for seniors and people with disabilities.
# $5 billion in Medicaid cuts to health services for poor children and long-term care patients, and increasing the cost of prescription drugs for beneficiaries.
# $2.6 billion in cuts from programs serving single-parent families, foster children, and low-income elderly and disabled individuals.
# $22 billion give-away to health insurance industry that allows HMOs to receive higher reimbursements under the Medicare prescription drug program.
"Regardless of which party is in power, the people's business ought never to be made done closed doors - much less critical budget decisions that can mean life or death for some families," said DeLauro. "$22 billion is enough to restore the $12.7 billion in student loan assistance cut from this legislation, the billion-and-a-half dollars of cuts to child and foster care support and the $7 billion of cuts in health care for families. The House Republicans should have put families' interests ahead of the special interests."
http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2006/February/reconciliation_passage_2_1_06.html