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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, gave the following opening statement this morning at a subcommittee markup of H.R. 5613, the Protecting Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008.
"Good morning. We are here today to mark up H.R. 5613, the Protecting Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008. I am a proud co-sponsor of this legislation that will protect Medicaid beneficiaries from an onslaught of harmful regulations issued by the Bush administration over the past year. I would like to thank both Chairman Dingell and Representative Murphy for their hard work on this bill, as well as all the advocacy and stakeholder groups for their tireless efforts to raise awareness on these issues.
"If implemented, the regulations issued by the Bush administration could seriously jeopardize health care for millions of low-income, disabled, mentally ill, and vulnerable Americans by destroying some of the most fundamental aspects of the Medicaid program such as: rehabilitative services, targeted case management, school-based administration and transportation, graduate medical education, and hospital outpatient services.
"Last week we heard testimony on what this impact would mean in real terms. Eduardo, a third grader from the DeLeon School District in Texas, would have never received the proper referrals to physical therapy that allowed him to go from a wheelchair to leg braces and participate in a regular education classroom. Dr. Marsha Raulerson’s practice, Lower Alabama Pediatrics, which serves 70 percent Medicaid cases, would be forced to close, leaving over 100 children with mental illnesses without critical support. And hospitals nationwide, including Alameda County Medical Center in California, under the cost-limit rule alone, could lose nearly $100 million dollars in payments – a cut so substantial that the very existence of this facility would be jeopardized.
"While these few examples may help us understand the direct impact these regulations would have on beneficiaries if the regulations were to go in effect, I fear that the actual outcomes would be much worse. While CMS estimates a savings of $15 billion over five years, my colleague, Mr. Waxman, Chair of the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, estimates that nearly $50 billion dollars in damage will be done. The 'savings' CMS wishes to achieve are simply a shifting of cost onto states who will be forced to bear the burden of an even larger health care crisis.
"These changes to Medicaid undermine the longstanding partnership between federal and state government, and come at a time when states are already experiencing financial hardship. More than half of the states are projecting deficits for the upcoming fiscal year, and since most are required to enact balanced budgets, there will undoubtedly be a reduction of services and diminished access to care.
"In fact, the potential impact is so significant that last week, all 50 state governors – Democrats and Republicans – signed a letter of support for this bill. In order to protect Medicaid and preserve our health care safety net, we must also act today in a bi-partisan effort. Particularly during this time of economic crisis and job loss, it is our responsibility as lawmakers to put the needs of vulnerable citizens before partisan politics.
"While I am sure each of us here today is concerned with the solvency of the Medicaid program, I do not believe that the relatively minor savings achieved by these regulations are worth the huge disruption of needed services and costs to beneficiaries. And while we are also concerned with fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program, I see no logic in punishing all beneficiaries by eliminating services altogether. CMS must be empowered to perform the due diligence that the Medicaid program requires; however, the sweeping elimination of benefits to beneficiaries who rely on such services and have done no wrong is simply immoral.
"Finally, I would like to comment on the manner in which the administration promulgated these regulations. CMS appears to have done little research on the true impacts of these regulations, jumping too quickly to grab cost-savings today at the risk of greater spending tomorrow. I am also dismayed that in the face of massive outcry during the public comment period on these regulations, CMS still chose to move forward and ignore the input of critical stakeholders.
"I believe this one-year moratorium provides the necessary opportunity to do thorough research on these ideas, seek the input of stakeholders, and work together to strengthen Medicaid, a goal which I believe we all share.
"Thank you again to the original sponsors of this bill and I now recognize Mr. Deal for his opening statement."
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