At present, the Home of Representatives voted to make the biggest cuts in historical past to Medicaid and the Supplemental Diet Help Program (SNAP), endangering the well being and monetary safety of thousands and thousands of older adults throughout America. The finances reconciliation invoice (H.R. 1) narrowly handed 218-214 with solely Republican assist. It handed the Senate earlier this week, with the Vice President casting the tie-breaking vote. The president is anticipated to signal it into regulation tomorrow.
Assertion from Justice in Getting old’s Govt Director Kevin Prindiville:
“Slicing Medicaid, Medicare, the Reasonably priced Care Act (ACA), and SNAP is morally indefensible beneath any circumstance, however this invoice is especially merciless, slicing these applications by effectively over $1 trillion and taking well being protection from 17 million folks. These cuts rob older adults and different folks struggling to make ends meet to make the billionaires even richer, setting a harmful precedent that Congress will use these primary wants applications as a piggy financial institution.
These cuts are a lot greater than the stunning numbers; they tear the very material of our communities and break the promise that individuals in America can rely upon this help as they age. For many years, lawmakers and advocates have labored collectively to strengthen Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP and assist guarantee individuals who can not afford well being care and meals can entry it. This invoice rolls again that progress, endangering the lives of as we speak’s older adults and ripping away the muse for the subsequent generations to have the ability to age with dignity.
When President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into regulation 60 years in the past this month, he stated, ‘[T]right here is one other custom that we share as we speak. It calls upon us by no means to be detached towards despair. It instructions us by no means to show away from helplessness. It directs us by no means to disregard or to spurn those that undergo untended in a land that’s bursting with abundance.’ This week, Congress broke that custom, disregarding their constituents who informed them how this invoice will trigger them to undergo and as an alternative selected to hoard the abundance.
The one factor this invoice can not change is Justice in Getting old’s fierce dedication to advocating for the rights and dignity of low-income older adults, making certain their voices are heard, and their lives are valued. We’re grateful to the older adults and advocates throughout the nation who put every thing into this combat and share this unwavering dedication to do proper by our communities.”
