The sweeping reconciliation package approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last month contains massive cuts and other changes to Medicaid that would have a disastrous effect on people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision. Low-income families and many other marginalized groups will be severely harmed if the bill is approved by the Senate and becomes law in its current form.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill would cut Medicaid funding by $864 billion, causing at least 11 million Americans to become uninsured, some through loss of Medicaid coverage and others from loss of access to Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage.
The devastating impact would go beyond individual loss of health care coverage. There would be a huge loss of health care industry jobs. It would also place enormous strain on hospitals and other health care providers as they struggle to meet the needs of uninsured patients without receiving any compensation for their services.
Make no mistake: The Medicaid “savings” proponents of the bill point to come from people losing access to health care! It does not improve anything. The eligibility restrictions it imposes would mean that millions of people who have no other insurance option would not be able to receive the medical services they need.
We urge you to contact your U.S. Senators and ask that they vote against the bill. Killing the bill entirely is the best outcome by far.
However, the Senate could make changes to the bill that would reduce the harm to some degree should it pass. Please ask your Senators to remove these provision that were in the version of the bill passed by the House:
- The requirement that those already in Medicaid ages 18 to 64 prove that they are working or exempt from work requirements.
- The requirement that applicants prove they are already working before they can enroll in Medicaid.
- The requirement for multiple eligibility checks every year.
- The decrease in retroactive coverage from three months to one month.
- The ban on people who lose Medicaid due to work requirements from receiving ACA marketplace subsidies.
Please join us in attempting to stop this unprecedented assault on our nation’s critical health care safety net. Here is contact information for Wisconsin’s U.S. Senators:
Senator Ron Johnson
Email contact form
328 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5323
Senator Tammy Baldwin
Email contact form
141 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5653
