APHA Chides Congress for Its Passage of Cuts to Medicaid and Inadequate Investment

4/29/2005 1:19:00 PM

To: National Desk, Health Reporter

Contact: Sabrina Jones of the American Public Health Association, 202-777-2509 or sabrina.jones [at] apha.org

WASHINGTON, April 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a statement from Georges C. Benjamin, M.D., FACP, executive director of the American Public Health Association:

"With its passage last night of a budget resolution that cuts public health by billions of dollars over five years, Congress has shown the dismally low priority it has placed on protecting the health of Americans. The approved budget resolution will add millions of dollars in defense and security spending and expand and preserve tax cuts for wealthier Americans. At the same time, the measure will usher in huge reductions to the Medicaid program and to our nation's public health system.

"Our nation's primary public health services and programs are in jeopardy. The budget calls for more than $4 billion over five years in curbs to public health services, including cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration, as well as other branches of the public health system. At a time when bioterrorism, pandemic influenza and chronic diseases continue to threaten our welfare, we cannot afford to pare back funding. The thousands of public health professionals on the front lines battling these risks are being asked to do more work but with fewer resources. We must have sustained investment to rebuild our public health system and to better protect Americans.

"The budget resolution also includes approximately $10 billion in cuts to the Medicaid program from fiscal years 2007 to 2010. This program provides invaluable security for more than 50 million Americans, giving them access to primary and preventive health services that are essential to their well-being and, in many cases, their survival. We are deeply disappointed that Congress -- despite consensus in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate against cuts in Medicaid -- chose not to protect the health of Americans. What message does this send to the most vulnerable, including children, pregnant women and lower-income Americans, when Congress votes to place the wealthy's financial health above individuals' improved physical and mental health?

"We applaud the courageous stand of Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) and the other members of Congress who have fought to protect Americans' access to health care. We commend their efforts in supporting the creation of a study commission on Medicaid. It is our hope that a truly bipartisan commission will identify real reforms to improve the program to achieve desired budgetary savings rather than recklessly recommend cuts. The lives of millions of Americans are at stake."

------

The American Public Health Association, the oldest organization of public health professionals, represents more than 50,000 members from over 50 public health occupations. More information is available at http://www.apha.org.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

-0-

/© 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/