Districy by District Analysis of the Ryan Budget on Medicare and Medicaid

In a recent letter to their colleagues, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Health Subcommittee provided detailed analyses of the impact of House Budget Committee Chairman, Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget.  The Ryan budget was included in the FY 2012 budget resolution (H.Con. Res. 34).  The Waxman/Pallone analyses plainly demonstrate the harsh outcomes of block-granting Medicaid and converting Medicare into a private voucher program in all 435 congressional districts. 

Although the Senate rejected the House FY 2012 budget resolution on May 25, advocates are wary that elements of this budget resolution could resurface in future reconciled budget resolutions.   Now would be good time to review the Waxman/Pallone analyses to see how House budget plans for Medicare and Medicaid would negatively impact low-income communities and the elderly in your congressional district.  For those who become sufficiently alarmed by this information, your elected officials need to hear your voices in support of the current structures of Medicare and Medicaid.

For the district-by district analyses, see the highlighted portion below or go to:  http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?q=page/district-by-district-impact-of-republican-medicare-plan-and-medicaid-cuts

Reps. Waxman and Pallone Release New Reports for All 435 Congressional Districts on Impact of Republican Plans to End Medicare as We Know It and to Slash Medicaid

Jun 3, 2011

Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., Ranking Member of the Health Subcommittee, released new analyses detailing the impact of the Republican Medicare and Medicaid proposals on each congressional district.
Below is the full text of the letter sent by Reps. Waxman and Pallone to their colleagues to assist them in understanding the ramifications of the Republican Medicare and Medicaid proposals. 

June 3, 2011 

Dear Colleague: 
            The Republican’s budget would end Medicare as we know it.  It also slashes Medicaid programs that cover millions of seniors in nursing homes and provide basic coverage for tens of millions of children. These Republican proposals would have a devastating impact on every congressional district in the country for generations to come.
            The Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it, raises costs for seniors and individuals with disabilities, reduces their benefits, and puts private insurance companies in charge of seniors’ health care.  For current beneficiaries, important benefits – such as closing the hole in Medicare’s drug coverage – would be immediately eliminated.  For individuals age 54 and under, Medicare’s longstanding guarantee of comprehensive coverage would be replaced with an inadequate federal subsidy to buy private health insurance.  By design, this federal contribution will not keep pace with medical costs, shifting thousands of dollars in costs onto individuals.
            Similarly, the Republican Medicaid plan eliminates Medicaid’s guarantee of coverage.  Medicaid would be turned into a block grant, and the federal contribution to Medicaid would be slashed by nearly $800 billion over the next decade.  Other changes proposed by House Republicans would allow states to eliminate coverage for seniors, nursing home care, individuals with disabilities, children, pregnant women, and others currently enrolled in Medicaid.  These changes would have a profound impact on Medicaid’s ability to provide health coverage to millions of Americans, and will shift tens of billions of dollars in costs to state taxpayers.
            To assist members in understanding the ramifications of these policies, we asked the Democratic staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce to analyze the impacts of the Republican Medicare and Medicaid proposals in every congressional district in the country. 
            Today, we are releasing these analyses, which can be found online here. The reports for your district will explain in detail the impacts of Republican Medicare and Medicaid proposals on your constituents. We hope this information is useful to you and your constituents as you consider these policies.
Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman Ranking Member Committee on Energy and Commerce

Frank Pallone, Jr. Member Committee on Energy and Commerce