Hearing of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee - Medicaid at 50: Strengthening and Sustaining the Program

Hearing

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for convening a hearing on this timely and important topic --
Medicaid's 50 years of efficient, comprehensive, and sometimes lifesaving, health coverage of
our most vulnerable populations. As a Member of Congress, I believe that government can help
all Americans succeed, including seniors and low-income families, and improving and
strengthening Medicaid for generations to come continues to be a primary goal of mine.
Medicaid provides more than 1 in 3 children with a chance at a healthy start in life. And
1 in 7 Medicare seniors are actually also Medicaid seniors. In fact, the overwhelming majority
of the 71 million current Medicaid beneficiaries are children, the elderly, the disabled and
pregnant women.

We often talk about Medicaid as an entitlement program. Though I don't believe this is a
true reflection of the program. Medicaid is a bedrock safety net that ensures all Americans have
protection against the negative economic effects that undisputedly come with lack of health
coverage. Medicaid's inherent structure was designed to ensure that health coverage will be there
for those who need it when times are hard, jobs are lost, or accident strikes. The fundamental
tenet of the program is that it can expand and contract according to need. In fact, Medicaid was
first proposed as part of a set of economic policies by President Truman.

And the Affordable Care Act built on those same goals, by strengthening Medicaid and
expanding its coverage. States that have expanded Medicaid have already realized significant
qualitative and economic benefits as uncompensated care rates drop and more people gain
coverage. Meanwhile, Medicaid coverage lowers financial barriers to health care access,
increases use of preventative care, and improves health outcomes.

In addition, states have been successful in managing their Medicaid programs through
broad latitude and flexibility to ensure access to critical health care services for their own
populations at low costs.

No program is perfect; For instance, I believe that we need to remain vigilant on access to
specialty and dental care, continue to refine transparency and evaluation of Medicaid waivers,
and ensure that Medicaid is successfully integrated with Medicare and the health insurance
marketplaces. We should think more about how to advance some of the innovations in delivery
system reform--the Medicaid program has some of our best successes, with some of the
toughest-to-treat populations.

Mr. Chairman, I hope to not hear more of the same assaults on the Affordable Care Act
or Medicaid today. Inaccurate and ideological representations of what Medicaid is and who it
serves are tired and outdated. Instead, I believe that there are many policy areas in Medicaid
where members on both sides could share an interest. I look forward to learning about ways that
Congress can help to build on an already strong Medicaid program, refining and modernizing
this critical safety net for the next fifty years and beyond.

I yield the remainder of my time to Rep. Lujan.

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