[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9609]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                MEDICAID

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, while it is imperative that we 
reduce the Federal deficit, balancing the budget on the backs of our 
Nation's disadvantaged children and senior citizens is neither 
responsible nor equitable. I believe in an America that protects the 
young and the elderly.
  But the Republican budget attacks the important safeguards for 
children and the disadvantaged, replacing Medicaid with vastly limited 
monetary grants to the States, forcing them to either reduce benefits 
to lower-income families or reduce the number of eligible families. 
Currently, 34 million children receive health care through Medicaid. 
From 1997 to 2009, the percentage of children without health insurance 
as a result dropped from 13.9 percent to 8.2. The Republican budget's 
attacks on Medicaid will imperil the health insurance for 24,100 
children and reduce benefits for 6,100 seniors in my district, the 11th 
District of Virginia.
  Unfortunately, the Republican attacks on our seniors don't end with 
Medicaid. Imagine a world where half of all seniors lack health 
insurance. Imagine a world where the rising costs of health care 
threaten retirees' ability to afford essential medicine their doctor 
prescribed. Imagine a world where more than one out of every three 
seniors lives in poverty and the choice for the day is between food and 
their drugs. This isn't a dystopian nightmare--it was the United States 
in 1965 before we passed Medicare. Seniors suffering from arthritis, 
hypertension, coronary disease, cancer, glaucoma, and any number of 
ailments lacked coverage and far too often fell into financial 
distress.
  But thanks to Medicare, we changed all of that, providing guaranteed 
health insurance coverage to our Nation's seniors. As a result, the 
senior poverty rate decreased by 75 percent.
  But our retirees once again face that nightmare scenario as the 
Republican budget plan for fiscal year 2012 seeks to eliminate Medicare 
for everyone 54 years and younger and force future retirees into 
finding insurance in the private market--the private market which could 
choose not to offer them coverage at all. Many seniors will be forced 
to pay more for health insurance; many seniors won't find any coverage.
  Under the Republicans' plan for Medicare, according to the 
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, retirees in 2022 will pay 
$6,400 more per year than they otherwise would under the traditional 
Medicare coverage.
  In addition, the Republican budget reopens the Medicare part D 
prescription drug coverage gap, or the doughnut hole, which will cost 
seniors thousands of dollars each year for prescription medication. 
Prescription drugs can be expensive, and many of the medications 
seniors take are long term. People take medication daily to control 
their arthritis pain, lower their cholesterol, and reduce the risk of 
stroke. These lifesaving medications come at a price.
  The implementation of Medicare part D in 2005 left many seniors with 
a gap in coverage, the doughnut hole. This gap, the initial coverage 
within it, and the catastrophic coverage amount cost many seniors 
thousands of dollars a year. I was proud to vote to eliminate that 
doughnut hole in 2009 with the health care reform bill. Unfortunately, 
just 2 years later, the Republican attack on Medicare reinstates the 
doughnut hole, once again threatening seniors with thousands of dollars 
in medication costs.
  Mr. Speaker, I know our constituents want the Congress to get our 
fiscal house in order, and they're right. But Americans don't want us 
to eviscerate Medicare and attack retiree health insurance as part of 
that process.
  I recently held a telephone town hall meeting and I conducted a poll. 
Seventeen hundred people participated in that poll. Seventy-three 
percent said do not gut Medicare.
  True fiscal responsibility requires a firm commitment and shared 
sacrifice. It involves long-term focus to rein in and reduce spending 
in a responsible, sustained manner. Real fiscal discipline requires us 
to look at every area of the budget, including revenues, savings, 
efficiencies, and cuts where necessary. Ultimately, the budget 
represents our Nation's priorities. Reducing deficits is a significant 
priority, and as my constituents in the 11th District of Virginia have 
made clear, protecting seniors and their Medicare is equally 
significant.

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