As budget negotiations intensify in Washington, it is becoming clearer that essential health programs for our country's most vulnerable families are in danger of being significantly scaled back or eliminated. With a $14.2 trillion debt and demands from states for increased flexibility, the Congress faces difficult decisions about the future of existing entitlement programs. The response has been the consideration of a range of proposals that would turn Medicaid into a block grant, eliminate Medicaid and CHIP maintenance of effort provisions included in the new health reform law, and significantly reduce or eliminate funding for other critical child health programs. Millions of children could loose health and dental coverage if the current proposals under consideration are enacted.
The House of Representatives recently passed a budget resolution, proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) that would eliminate more than a trillion dollars of funding for Medicaid cut funding to other health programs benefiting America's most vulnerable families. In addition, a recent proposal by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) would place a cap on federal spending, imposing billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid -- likely retracting essential coverage for millions of Americans.
In response to requests by some Governors, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) this week introduced a bill which would repeal the maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements that preserve the benefits of Medicaid and CHIP enrollees. The same bill, cosponsored in the House by Rep. John Gingrey (R-GA) was passed today by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee. The MOE requirements, set forth by the Recovery Act (stimulus package) and the Affordable Care Act (health reform), stabilize coverage for low-income and working poor families through 2019. Repealing these protections would put Medicaid and CHIP programs on the chopping block by allowing coverage to be rescinded, eligibility to be cut, and opening the door for state policymakers to eliminate the programs all together. According to early Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, if the MOE requirements were eliminated, many states would significantly cut back their CHIP programs, putting children and families at risk of losing their coverage.
Given the current vulnerability of these critical health programs, oral health programs and coverage are in danger unless we act together now to demand that Congress seek responsible strategies for addressing America's financial situation and hold working class families harmless. It is important to realize that while targeting these programs in the short run may cut costs, investing in kids' health results in significant savings down the road. Targeting the healthcare safety net for families is neither responsible nor fiscally sound. We encourage you to contact your legislators today.
