[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 190 (Thursday, November 30, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H13810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IMPOVERISHING FAMILIES IS NO WAY TO BALANCE BUDGET

  Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, no, we will not join in an effort that, as 
the report issued on Wednesday by the Consumers Union says, and these 
are the folks, my friends, when you go to buy your car, you look at the 
Consumer Reports to find out if you are getting a bum deal or if you 
are going to get a good deal.
  Let me tell you what kind of a bum deal that the folks in this 
country are going to get. The Republican plans for the transformation 
of Medicaid may force thousands of American families into financial 
ruin.
  Mr. Speaker, Medicaid pays the bills of 60 percent of nursing home 
residents in this country. Under the Republican plan, 395,000 of our 
Nation's long-term care patients are likely to lose Medicaid payment 
for their care.
  Most appalling is that the Republican plan would repeal current 
regulations that protect the assets of the families of nursing home 
patients.
  In fact, this bill would actually allow a State to place a lein on 
your home if your mother or father is in a nursing home and cannot pay 
the bill. Mr. Speaker, families should not have to hawk their homes to 
pay for the medical care of loved ones. Impoverishing American families 
is no way to balance the budget.

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