OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, and Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader , Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, and Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader - Over 150 Members Urge Rejection of GOP Efforts to Repeal Protections for Vulnerable Families, Shove Them Off Medicaid Amid Pandemic

Letter

By: Anna Eshoo, Al Lawson, Jr., Ted Deutch, David Scott, John Yarmuth, Dan Kildee, Chris Pappas, Joyce Beatty, Madeleine Dean, Lizzie Fletcher, Joaquin Castro, Marc Veasey, Ruben Gallego, Jackie Speier, T.J. Cox, Ted Lieu, Maxine Waters, Jason Crow, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Bobby Rush, Brad Schneider, Jim McGovern, John Sarbanes, Emanuel Cleaver II, Xochitl Torres Small, Paul Tonko, Mary Scanlon, Jim Langevin, Adam Smith, Judy Chu, Stephanie Murphy, Frederica Wilson, Robin Kelly, Ayanna Pressley, Debbie Dingell, Annie Kuster, Marcia Fudge, Susan Wild, Al Green, Henry Cuellar, Filemon Vela, Jr., Jared Huffman, Eric Swalwell, Julia Brownley, Karen Bass, Nanette Barragán, John Larson, Darren Soto, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Mike Quigley, Bill Foster, Joe Kennedy III, Andy Levin, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Dina Titus, Marcy Kaptur, Chrissy Houlahan, Elaine Luria, Lloyd Doggett II, Terri Sewell, Susan Davis, Charlie Crist, Jr., Hank Johnson, Jr., Danny Davis, Jamie Raskin, Ilhan Omar, Deb Haaland, Kendra Horn, Jim Cooper, Veronica Escobar, Eddie Johnson, Pramila Jayapal, Tom O'Halleran, Doris Matsui, Zoe Lofgren, Tony Cárdenas, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Juan Vargas, Jahana Hayes, Lois Frankel, Tulsi Gabbard, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Cheri Bustos, Stephen Lynch, Brenda Lawrence, Alma Adams, Jerry Nadler, Peter DeFazio, Conor Lamb, Don Beyer, Jr., Raul Grijalva, Rosa DeLauro, Alcee Hastings, Sr., John Lewis, André Carson, Chellie Pingree, Bennie Thompson, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Brendan Boyle, Steve Cohen, Sheila Jackson Lee, Colin Allred, Ann Kirkpatrick, Jerry McNerney, Jimmy Panetta, Grace Napolitano, Mark Takano, Diana DeGette, Eleanor Norton, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Abby Finkenauer, Jan Schakowsky, Clay Higgins, Bill Keating, Angie Craig, Albio Sires, Carolyn Maloney, Dwight Evans, Mike Doyle, Jr., Gerry Connolly, Jimmy Gomez, Val Demings, Donna Shalala, Chuy Garcia, David Trone, Betty McCollum, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Tim Ryan, David Cicilline, Vicente Gonzalez, Sylvia Garcia, Peter Welch, Mike Thompson, Ro Khanna, Adam Schiff, Linda Sánchez, Alan Lowenthal, Joe Courtney, Kathy Castor, Lucy McBath, Sean Casten, Lauren Underwood, Katherine Clark, Rashida Tlaib, David Price, Steven Horsford, Earl Blumenauer, Matt Cartwright, Donald McEachin
Date: April 21, 2020
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health Insurance Government Budget and Spending

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy, Majority Leader McConnell, and Minority Leader Schumer,

We are concerned about reports that there are efforts to undermine the maintenance of effort (MOE) provisions included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Families First) in the next relief package. We greatly appreciate your fight to include these critical provisions in the prior legislation and write to strongly urge you that no modifications be made in future legislation to ensure our neighbors are able to continue their Medicaid coverage in these trying times.

Modifying or repealing the MOE requirements would be an invitation for our states to provide even less assistance to our most vulnerable neighbors, especially in states that already have restrictive Medicaid programs. It would be extremely harmful to millions of children, seniors, pregnant women, individuals with disabilities and others who rely on Medicaid across the country.

States are required to balance their budgets even in a recession; many may turn to the Medicaid and CHIP rolls to save money, kicking people out of the programs and severely restricting eligibility, while also possibly limiting the benefits offered. During past recessions, Governors have exerted pressure to eliminate MOE requirements, acknowledging that they wanted to cut eligibility. Any modification to the strong MOE provisions in Families First put the entire Medicaid protection at risk.

With nearly 30 million uninsured patients prior to this crisis and millions filing for unemployment each week across the country, it is vital that we protect the Medicaid program from destructive cuts. We can ill afford to have even more people without coverage at a time when it is essential.

The health of our most vulnerable neighbors and the broader public health are at stake. We urge you respectfully, but in the strongest possible terms, to protect the MOE requirements to ensure our neighbors are able to keep the health coverage they need.


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