Sen. Baucus is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Seatbelts, life preservers, bicycle helmets — there are plenty of measures we take to protect people who might find themselves in harm’s way.  We do these things because it’s easier to prevent a tragedy than to react to one.  And, it’s easy to see how most folks could use a hand every now and again.  The Medicaid program is often called America’s health care safety net because it’s designed to prevent problems before they occur.  It safeguards the most vulnerable Americans in cases when their health could be in jeopardy.

Right now, the Medicaid program needs protection.  The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a number of regulations that would reduce Federal funding for several vital Medicaid programs and services by nearly $20 billion over the next five years.  These policies would keep hundreds of thousands of Americans — both children and adults — from receiving the assistance they need to stay well.

Every governor in the country opposes these regulations.  Last week, 349 members of the House of Representatives — both Democrats and Republicans — agreed, and took action to prevent these rules from taking effect.  Wednesday’s strong, bipartisan House action on these rules echoes the Senate’s unanimous vote to protect America’s health care safety net.  Now, I intend to pick up where the House left off, and work with my colleagues here in the Senate on strategies to stop harmful Medicaid regulations.

Without Congressional action, many Medicaid beneficiaries will lose access to specialized care that allows people to live independently, receive an education, or recover from an illness.  Services like rehabilitation for people with both chronic and temporary disabilities, targeted case management that coordinates access to the full spectrum of health care and support services for at-risk children and adults, school-based services that help nurses and teachers work with parents to enroll their kids in Medicaid and provide limited transportation so children with disabilities can get to school, and hospital outpatient services that deliver vital care in clinics and other facilities outside of hospitals.  Congressional action would also prevent limits on state provider taxes that are needed to pay for Medicaid expenses.  It would block limits on Medicaid funding for graduate medical education, and limits on Medicaid payments to public hospitals and nursing homes that provide critical care to beneficiaries.

In March, I stood up for Medicaid with a Medicaid Amendment to the Budget Resolution.  My measure expressed the Sense of the Senate that regulations shouldn’t stand in the way of the guaranteed health insurance coverage Medicaid provides or shift Medicaid cost burdens to state or local governments that are already feeling the squeeze in this difficult economic climate.  Keeping Medicaid safe keeps vulnerable populations like pregnant women, children, senior citizens and people with disabilities safe too.  It is one of my most important jobs as Chairman of the Finance Committee, and I will continue to fight for what’s right for Americans who need health care.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 10:10 am and is filed under Politics, Healthcare .