04.24.08
John Carter Votes To Cut Medicaid To The Least Among Us
Yesterday HR 5613, the Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008, passed the US House with only 62 (all Republican) dissenting votes. One of them was Rep. John Carter. Of course this is one of those bills that only the most “right-wing” Republicans in safe districts vote against. See what you get voters in TX-31, when there’s not accountability. Even Texas Gov. Rick Perry thinks this is a bad idea (read his letter here [.PDF]), calling it a “significant cost shifting to the states”. From the CPPP, A Central Pillar of Texas Health Care is at Risk: Federal Medicaid Rules Would Cost Texas $3.4 Billion:
Texas Medicaid is the predominant health safety net for 2.8 million seniors, Texans with disabilities, and low-income children. Medicaid provides over $13 billion in federal funds for health and long-term care to the poorest and most seriously disabled Texans in 2008. Medicaid’s contributions are critical, because they also support the safety net that must care for another 5.7 million Texans who remain uninsured—care funded largely through local health care spending that is not matched with Medicaid’s federal funds. Federal Medicaid officials are trying to impose a number of rules that, if implemented, would make program cuts that would threaten our most vulnerable citizens, limit our ability to serve more low-income children in CHIP, and shortchange taxpayers at the same time. Texas Medicaid officials estimate that these rules would cost Texas Medicaid $3.4 billion in lost federal support over five years. The cuts would force Texas to cut services for children with disabilities and frail seniors as well as support for safety net hospitals, or else raise taxes to make up the lost federal funds. Governor Rick Perry, the National Governors Association, and the National Association of State Medicaid directors all have urged Congress to stop the rules from taking effect, and Congress is now debating bills that would delay the rules for at least a year. In every case, these rules attempt to impose harsher policies than underlying federal law, and in many cases policies that have been specifically rejected by Congress.
Carter has a clear pattern of voting against health care coverage for those that need it the most. Let’s hope there’s a veto-proof majority in the Senate as well so this will no longer be an issue. More on this from the kaisernetwork.org.