[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 158 (Thursday, October 12, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15093-S15094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              ON MEDICAID

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, far too often, in Washington, the human 
side of Federal programs are forgotten. This year's debate has been 
more concerned with the bottom line and tax cuts than how best to serve 
the people. In a recent column in the Burlington Free Press, Barbara 
Leitenberg put a face on what is at stake in the Medicaid debate. I ask 
unanimous consent that Ms. Leitenberg's article be printed in the 
Record for my Senate colleagues to read.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

            [From the Burlington Free Press, Sept. 4, 1995]

                   Seniors Fear Holes in Medicaid Net

                        (By Barbara Lettenberg)

       ``It's not a Contract with America; it's a contract with 
     death,'' says Lyman Deavitt, 65, of Burlington, his blue eyes 
     flashing in anger. ``I'd like to meet Newt Gingrich one-on-
     one.''
       Deavitt is especially worried about congressional proposals 
     to limit the growth of Medicaid, the ultimate safety net for 
     health-care costs.
       He suffers from insulin-dependent diabetes and resulting 
     neuropathy in both legs, two hard-to-treat ancurysms, blood 
     vessel and bowel blockages, cataracts, and infections in his 
     one remaining kidney.
       Because of surgery for cancer of the bladder, he must use a 
     device that siphons his urine directly from his kidney to a 
     pouch outside his body.
       ``I have no way to pay for these things,'' says Deavitt. 
     ``All I have is $704 a month from Social Security. You can 
     understand why I get on a rampage about those jerks in 
     Washington.''
       Medicaid is a federal/state program, started in 1965, which 
     provides medical and long-term care for people with very low 
     incomes. In Vermont, that means no more than $683 per month. 
     $741 in Chittenden County. A single person must have no more 
     than $2,000 in resources; a married couple, no more than 
     $3,000.
       More than 82,000 Vermonters participate in Medicaid: Almost 
     45,000 are under 18; 28,000 are 18-64; and 9,500 are 65 and 
     older. Medicaid pays for physician and hospital care, and 
     some home health and personal care. It is the payer of last 
     resort for care in nursing homes. Medicaid also has special 
     programs in which people who do not quite meet its strict 
     income and resource eligibility rules can get benefits when 
     they face extraordinary health-care bills.
       In its Budget Resolution, passed in June, Congress proposes 
     to cut $182 billion from Medicaid by the year 2002. This 
     would be done by limiting the rate of increase from about 10 
     percent a year to just below 5 percent. Although Medicaid 
     will still grow at this lower rate, programs will have to be 
     cut because the lower rate does not account for general and 
     medical care inflation and the growth in the eligible 
     population.

[[Page S 15094]]

       Some 7,100 Vermonters would be cut from the Medicaid rolls 
     between 1996 and 2002 if these changes are approved, says the 
     national Long Term Care Campaign in its study, ``Some Cuts 
     Never Heal.''
       Lyman Deavitt was born in Fletcher, one of nine children: 
     five boys and four girls. He attended a one-room schoolhouse 
     and ``just missed graduating from high school in Johnson.'' 
     When he was a young man, his family moved to Essex Junction.
       After a series of jobs at the Park Cafe and the old 
     Oakledge Manor in Burlington and after five years working in 
     Boston, he became credit manager at Flanders Lumber Co. in 
     Essex Junction. He stayed there 15 years until his bout with 
     cancer in 1981 and successive disabilities made him unable to 
     work.
       ``I tried to go back to work at Flanders after my cancer 
     surgery,'' says Deavitt, ``but I could only manage about 
     three hours a day, and they had to let me go. Then I had to 
     spend all of my money on medical care. I was put on 
     disability in 1984.''
       Deavitt's mother taught him to crochet after his cancer 
     surgery, and he spends a great deal of his time making 
     afghans. The latest one is going to be raffled off at the 
     senior high-rise on St. Paul Street, with the proceeds going 
     to the Burlington Visiting Nurse Association.
       If his benefits from Medicaid are reduced, couldn't Deavitt 
     get help from his family? He has a married daughter in 
     Florida and a grown grandson. ``There's no way my daughter 
     can help,'' says Deavitt. ``She's very ill. My parents and my 
     brothers are dead. Two of my sisters have no money, like me. 
     The other two are married, and I couldn't ask them. I'd 
     rather be put out on the street. That's what's happening: The 
     politicians are forcing people to live on the street.
       ``It's terrifying for me to hear all this talk about cuts 
     in Medicaid,'' says Deavitt. ``If they want to start cutting 
     programs, they should leave the elderly out, the people with 
     disabilities, the children. Why don't they stop the space 
     program instead? To me, this is a bad setup.''

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