Ask Senate Finance Committee to Strengthen Medicaid
Congress is writing health reform legislation right now, and we’re concerned that measures to ensure coverage for low-income Americans need more emphasis in the discussion. We are inviting organizations to join Texas Voice for Health Reform in sending a letter to the Senate Finance Committee asking them to keep and strengthen Medicaid. See below for details. Sign-ons must be received by Tuesday, June 2nd to be included.
Background
As the Members of the five committees with jurisdiction over health care debate and discuss the issues and craft legislation to reform our nation’s health care system, state advocates have the critical role of ensuring that the voices of Texas consumers are heard in Washington, DC.
Medicaid has long provided a foundation of health care coverage for people with low incomes and special health care needs, and should serve as a cornerstone of national reform. Specifically, national health reform should strengthen and expand Medicaid to provide comprehensive coverage and high-quality, culturally-appropriate care to children, and people with low-incomes or special health needs.
There is a gap in the dialogue around the critical need to strengthen Medicaid in any reform of our health care system. As our Members of Congress are planning the policies that will shape reform, we are concerned that:
A) Not enough policymakers are talking about the important role that Medicaid plays currently and will need to continue to play in the future to provide a foundation of health coverage to people with low incomes or special health care needs.
B) The Senate Finance Committee’s Medicaid policy options in their recent coverage paper, Expanding Health Care Coverage: Proposals to Provide Affordable Coverage to All Americans, do not do enough to protect Medicaid as we know it and may actually change the current structure in a way that could provide less protections and benefits to low income and special needs consumers.
Role for State Advocates
One of our partners, Community Catalyst, has developed a set of principles for strengthening and expanding Medicaid in national health reform. They have used these principles to develop the attached sign-on letter from state advocates to Members of Congress. We would like to ensure that Texas is represented by collecting support for these Medicaid principles through sign-ons by key partners and coalitions.
Logistics
1. View the sign-on letter to the Senate Finance Committee
2. Please let us know if your organization would like to sign on no later than 3pm onTuesday, June 2. Send a confirmation email to Kymberlie Quong Charles at quongcharles@cppp.org with your organization’s name and address. If you send your own comments in addition to signing on to this letter, please ‘cc’ us on your message.
3. Kymberlie at Texas Voice for Health Reform (quongcharles@cppp.org) will ensure your organization is included as a signatory on the letter and delivered to Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley of the Senate Finance Committee as well as to each member of Texas Congressional Delegation.
If you have questions about this process or need assistance, please contact Kymberlie Quong Charles at quongcharles@cppp.org or 512-320-0222 x 115.
