The Senate bill is still a secret, but what we’ve learned isn’t good. Senate leadership is pushing for a vote by the end of next week. While some information about policy changes is leaking out, such as the Medicaid payment rates referenced below, the bill is still a secret – no text, no hearings, no public debate. Some lawmakers are taking it upon themselves to engage the public:
- Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) held his own hearing at the Connecticut state Capitol on Monday the 19th to highlight the lack of transparency; Center Executive Director Judith Stein testified at this hearing in opposition to the emerging Senate bill and the secret process.
The Medicaid cuts in the Senate bill will be worse than the House bill. The House bill would decimate Medicaid funding, but the Senate cuts could be even deeper over time. According to reports, the Senate bill would, as noted by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “reportedly lower the annual increase in state Medicaid funding under a per capita cap to the general inflation rate starting around 2025, which is well below the House-passed bill’s already inadequate growth rate. That means states would have to absorb much deeper cuts in federal Medicaid funding over the long run than under the highly damaging House bill.”
- Did you know Medicaid is the primary payer for nursing home care? See more information on Medicaid’s role in nursing home care: http://www.kff.org/infographic/medicaids-role-in-nursing-home-care/]
Keep the pressure on. Despite this lack of transparency, the Senate intends to vote on their secret bill next week. Though this process has been shrouded in secrecy, one thing is crystal clear: Now is the time to make our voices heard and tell Congress to protect our care!
Don't let the Senate gut health care! Contact your Senators and tell them to protect your care.
- Call your Senators: 1-866-426-2631. (Need Call scripts/talking points?)
- Follow up with an email using this handy tool from our friends at Families USA.
Ready to do more?
- Attend events and rallies in your state.
- Use social media to reach Senators, state and local policymakers and your networks
- Shareable graphic: Senator, Who Will Lose Medicaid Coverage First?
- Shareable Graphic: 5 Facts about Medicaid
- Generate media coverage of this issue, including op-eds and letters to the editor
Thank you for helping #ProtectOurCare!