As Congress continues to debate about the balanced budget amendment - at the heart of the discussion is Health Care spending.  By requiring what some feel is an arbitrary and severe cap on total spending, it would result in disproportionate cuts to  Medicaid and Medicare.

Many proposals look to shift the costs to patients and seniors.

• Certain Medicare proposals could double out-of-pocket healthcare costs for patients, increasing costs more than $12,510 a year. 
• Some proposals look to cut as much as $4 trillion in Medicare spending, reducing Medicare benefits, and shifting 2/3 the cost of Medicare coverage to patients.
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has expressed concern that healthcare providers might leave the Medicare program as result of drastic spending cuts, which would limit choice of necessary treatments and lower quality of care for seniors in Medicare.

 Another area of concern:   the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) which was established in the Affordable Care Act to recommend options for controlling spending and costs in Medicare.  This panel of presidential appointees was given unprecedented powers to impose cuts in Medicare, even without Congressional approval.  For example, cuts could include restrictions in access to psychiatric medications in the Medicare Part D program or restrictions in access to inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care even more drastic than those which already exist. 

While NAMI recognizes and supports the importance of controlling Medicare costs, we believe that giving non-elected citizens the authority to make changes to Medicare is not a good idea.  Thus, NAMI supports the repeal of IPAB and urges alternative options for bringing Medicare spending under control, for example through improved care management in Medicare, better integration of physical and mental healthcare, and chronic disease prevention programs.

There is compelling evidence the United States spends more than most developed countries without producing better outcomes.  NAMI North Carolina understands health care reform is needed.  But true reform cannot be achieved by restricting access, eliminating parity, or forcing people into emergency rooms and jails.

Plans for the federal budget change everyday; therefore, NAMI North Carolina has a simple message for the Congressional delegation: Do not cut Medicare and Medicaid funding.
 

Please call, write or email your legislator and tell them "Do Not Cut Medicare and Medicaid Funding!"  See the following links for talking points and additional resources.