Durbin Slams Republican Plans To Cut Medicaid In Order To Provide Tax Cuts To Billionaires
Durbin: “If Republicans push forward with their cruel and unpopular funding plan, working families will lose and billionaires will win”
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) slammed Congressional Republicans for their plan to slash Medicaid funding to give tax breaks to billionaires through their budget resolution. House Republicans have proposed $880 billion in cuts to the Medicaid program in order to pay for President Trump’s tax cuts for billionaires, and Senate Republicans have similarly put this program in the crosshairs.
“Why? Not because they want to lower health care costs or improve our health care system, but because they want to use Medicaid cuts as a source of revenue for tax breaks for billionaires,” said Durbin. “The richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, can dance around on stage with a chainsaw, cheering cuts to basic health care programs, but let me explain to you what that means for working families.”
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program provide health coverage to approximately 80 million people nationwide—including 30 million, or nearly half of all children in America, as well as 60 percent of seniors in nursing homes. In addition, Medicaid is the largest funder of addiction and mental health treatment. In Illinois, 3.4 million people are enrolled in Medicaid, including 1.5 million children. Under Republican plans to slash Medicaid, 775,000 adults in Illinois who gained health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act could lose coverage almost overnight.
“When I think back to things that I’ve been part of as a United States Senator from Illinois, I’m particularly gratified to remember when we passed the Affordable Care Act. Too many Americans at that time had no health insurance coverage. I found myself stuck in that situation as a law student here at Georgetown many, many years ago. My wife and I were blessed with a little baby girl who was born with a serious health problem, and we had no health insurance. So where did I go? I went over to the children’s hospital in this town with my wife and baby and waited in what they called the charity ward for the opportunity to see some doctor, any doctor, that might be able to treat my little girl. I never felt more worthless as a parent without health insurance with a sick little child. It’s a terrible feeling. I’ve never forgotten it to this day. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, and I certainly wouldn’t take health insurance away from somebody who couldn’t afford it otherwise in order to give a bigger tax cut to a wealthier person. I want to help working families, that’s for sure, but tax cuts for Elon Musk, come on. He doesn’t need it. He wouldn’t even notice it. What we ought to be focusing on is that family and their needs,” Durbin said.
Durbin went on to note that Medicaid is a lifeline for children’s hospitals and rural hospitals in their communities.
“In Illinois, 60 percent of our 102 counties are classified as rural. Rural hospitals are the backbone of communities in downstate Illinois. Rural hospitals anchor the local economy—they often are the largest employer in town. And they are a critical access point for health care. If you suffer a farm accident or face a complication with a birth in your family, you cannot afford to drive that extra hour or two to the nearest hospital. That’s why I’ve worked for years to improve access to health care in rural areas—working to strengthen rural hospitals and recruit more doctors, dentists, and nurses,” Durbin said.
“But rural hospitals in Illinois and across this country could be at risk of closure if Republicans put Medicaid on the chopping block… Already, half of rural hospitals in America operate in the red. And for many rural hospitals, Medicaid covers a large percentage of their patients and accounts for a large portion of the hospital’s budget,” said Durbin.
For HSHS St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield, Illinois, Medicaid pays for 53 percent of the hospitalizations. For OSF St. Clare Hospital in Princeton, Illinois, Medicaid pays for 45 percent of hospitalizations. And for Jersey Community Hospital in Jerseyville, Illinois, it is 22 percent.
“Do you see the picture here? Cuts to Medicaid put rural hospitals in jeopardy. And if rural hospitals close because of Republican budget cuts, communities will suffer, families will suffer. Children seeking cancer treatment won’t be able to access the local care they need. Pregnant women will have to drive further to deliver their babies. And your grandparent will have to wait months to get in to see that diabetes specialist,” Durbin said.
Durbin then highlighted the hypocrisy of Republicans wanting to cut Medicaid in their own states that have a high population of people who rely on the program. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) acknowledged in an interview that cutting Medicaid would “decimate” his state of Alabama, where three of five kids are on Medicaid. He then said that Congress has to find a way around cutting it. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) similarly expressed his support for protecting Medicaid, saying that rather than cutting it, “We will try to strengthen Medicaid for the future of all those who need it the most, the most vulnerable.”
“Slashing life-saving health care will hurt Americans in blue and red states. I hope my Republican colleagues do not cave to the President’s pressure and legislate away the health and well-being of the people they represent,” Durbin continued.
“If Republicans push forward with their cruel and unpopular funding plan, working families will lose and a handful of billionaires will win. It is simple and devastating math. But it is not too late. As we consider the budget resolution as soon as this week, Congress has the ability to do the right thing and protect Medicaid from cuts in our federal budget,” Durbin concluded.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
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