AIDS Action Council Medicaid Press Action

Letter To The Editor

Dear Editor:

In your recent article, ["Name Article"], you reported that Congress and the White House are now battling over how to balance the budget in seven years, but you only skim the surface of the impact this balancing act will have on thousands of families across America. While much of the political rhetoric about a federal balanced budget is abstract to many of us, all Americans can understand that the $163 billion in cuts to Medicaid will have grave health care consequences for vulnerable populations such as the poor, the elderly, the disabled --including people with AIDS -- as well as their families. The question is will President Clinton stand his ground and continue to support adequate federal funding for Medicaid?

As previous coverage in your newspaper shows, the answer is unclear. As [Title] of [Your Organization], a local AIDS service provider, I can tell you that the Medicaid program is critical to us because it provides health care services to half of all adults with HIV disease and 90 percent of all children living with AIDS. If the congressional leadership has its way, the current Medicaid program will be repealed and federal funds will block granted to the states. Arkansas [your state] could lose up to $X [Please e-mail AIDS Action at aidsaction@aidsaction.org for number] billion in federal Medicaid dollars by 2002. Without that $X billion in coverage for health care and services, people living with AIDS in Arkansas [or your state] will needlessly die and agencies like [your organization] will be paralyzed by huge increases in the number of clients and the costs of care. Without Medicaid, many people with AIDS will lose access to their lifeblood of prescription drugs and physicians skilled in their care. Sadly, no amount of Ryan White CARE Act money or private donations can ever make up for the loss in Medicaid coverage.

Therefore, in the spirit of this holiday season, I am asking President Clinton to stand his budgetary ground in support of Medicaid on behalf of every man, woman and child who live each day with HIV disease and have hope for the new year.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

For more information, contact
Joe Zuniga
AIDS Action Council
1875 Connecticut Avenue NW #700
Washington DC 20009
202-986-1300 x 3042
202-986-1345 (fax)
202-332-9614(tty)
E-Mail: aidsaction@aidsaction.org

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12/4/95--HandsNet Public Forums--HN3384