PROTECT WEST VIRGINIA BY PROTECTING MEDICAID
by Senator Jay Rockefeller
In a rural state like West Virginia, where our population is aging and our per capita income is low, the huge federal budget cuts being proposed for Medicaid could have a devastating impact on our rural health care system.
Currently, over 354,000 of our fellow West Virginians are directly dependent upon Medicaid. About half of them are children, and another 23 percent are blind or disabled. Without Medicaid, many of our families would have no access to health care.
But I am also concerned that many people may not appreciate the potential harm that cutting Medicaid could have on our economy. I recently met with a dedicated group of health care providers in Boone County to hear first-hand how Medicaid cuts would affect their doctors, patients, and local economy.
Most rural doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and community health centers in West Virginia serve a population of patients heavily reliant upon Medicaid. For every dollar the state comes up with for Medicaid patients, the federal government kicks in three. The $60 billion in Medicaid cuts being proposed by the President would undoubtedly force some rural clinics to close and some doctors and nurses to abandon rural health care altogether.
An additional cut in federal Medicaid spending would be on top of the $36 million Medicaid cut our state is already slated to receive under current law, and could reduce West Virginia's federal Medicaid funding by as much as $100 million next year alone. Our hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and clinics cannot absorb cuts of this magnitude.
In many cases, the local hospital is the largest employer in the area. Those jobs support the other jobs in our communities - retail businesses, utilities, real estate and restaurants. In short, the economic impact of Medicaid on our local communities is enormous.
That is one of the reasons why I am fighting to preserve Medicaid. Last year, I introduced legislation to extend the $20 billion in state fiscal relief enacted in 2003, so that West Virginia would not experience a $36 million reduction in federal Medicaid matching funds. This year, I have been asked by Senate Democrats to assume leadership of the newly-formed Senate Democratic Medicaid Working Group to help coordinate the fight against the proposed $60 billion in cuts.
I stand ready to work with President Bush, Congress, Governor Manchin and all governors, state legislators and health care advocates to find ways to strengthen the Medicaid program. As your Senator, I remain committed to protecting the physical health of our most vulnerable citizens and the economic health of our rural communities.
http://rockefeller.senate.gov/news/speeches/031405protectmedicaid.html