AIDS Action Council Medicaid Press Action

Sample Press Release

For Immediate Release Contact: Your name DATE and phone number.

[Your Organization] Calls For Clinton To Stand Firm in Budget Negotiations; Preserve Medicaid Safety Net For People With AIDS.

[Your City...][Your Organization, Executive Director X] called for President Clinton to continue support for Medicaid, the health care safety net for all people with AIDS, and veto the current budget reconciliation bill in which the program is dismantled. Also, following the veto, [Executive Director] is urging Clinton to stand firm in negotiations with Congress over a seven-year balanced budget by ensuring it will not block grant federal Medicaid funds, but guarantee eligibility and a benefits package for all low-income disabled individuals.

"Our hope is that the president will stand strong in his budget negotiations with Congress and not place lives in the balance for a balanced budget," said [Your Organization, Executive Director X.] "If Medicaid is block granted, there will be no guaranteed coverage of lifesaving medical services and treatments for low-income people with AIDS and organizations like [Your Organization] will be paralyzed by the influx of clients and the increased costs of care."

This week, Clinton is expected to veto the current budget reconciliation bill passed by both houses of Congress. The bill repeals the current Medicaid program and replaces it with a block grant program to the states with few federal requirements and $163 billion in cuts over the next seven years.

The Medicaid block grant proposal is really 50 separate checks written by the federal government to each state. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the total cuts in dollars available to states will actually be much more than $163 billion. Current law says that for each state revenue dollar a state removes from Medicaid, it loses up to four dollars in federal funds. But the block grant proposal removes incentives for states to contribute their funds toward Medicaid spending. Once a state contributes a sufficient amount of its own dollars to secure its full allocation under the federal block grant, any further state contribution is unnecessary. If states choose to contribute just enough in Medicaid funds to get their federal allocations, the total loss in both federal and state Medicaid, funding could be as high as $420 billion in the next seven years.

Furthermore, the Medigrant block grant is a fixed sum that will not provide coverage to additional people who may need help because of a sudden economic downturn, a rising unemployment rate or a sudden epidemic.

For people with AIDS and other disabilities, there is little protection under the Medigrant proposal. States are required to cover people with disabilities, but are allowed to define disability. There is no guarantee that people with AIDS will be included under 50 new state definitions or that those who do qualify for coverage will continue to receive the services for which they are now eligible under the current Medicaid program. Additionally, given such reductions in the program, states will be particularly hard-pressed to continue providing comprehensive benefits, including prescription drug coverage; treatments vital to sustaining the health of people with HIV disease.

An alternative to the block grant proposal is the per capita cap. Measures offering per capita cap language have been introduced by Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla) and Reps. Charles Stenholm (D-Texas) and Martin Sabo (D-Minn.). A per capita cap would allow states to receive a fixed amount of federal dollars per beneficiary for low-income pregnant women, children, disabled individuals (including people with AIDS) and the elderly in need of nursing home services. The caps would be different for each category and would vary by state according to each state's current Medicaid spending.

Unlike the block grant, the per capita cap would allow for continued growth in the number of Medicaid beneficiaries and would maintain their eligibility and benefits package. The cap would reduce federal spending, but the cuts would not be as drastic. Various per capita cap proposals cut from $54 billion to $85 billion over seven years, in contrast to the block grant proposal that cuts $167 billion in federal dollars and would result in net revenue losses of over $400 billion.

"A per capita cap is not an acceptable way to control health care spending; legislating universal health care coverage with cost containment is," said AIDS Action Council Executive Director Mark Barnes. "However, in this political climate, the per capita cap may be our best bet for satisfying the Republican leadership's desire to balance the budget in seven years while still providing some legitimate protection to our people," said AIDS Action Council's Executive Director Mark Barnes.

AIDS Action is the only national advocacy organization solely dedicated to shaping federal HIV/AIDS policy. Over the last three months, AIDS Action has led its 1,000-plus member AIDS organizations, including [Your Organization], in the national fight against federal Medicaid cuts.

[Your tag line.]

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

AIDS HIV Issues/AIDS Alerts
12/4/95--HandsNet Public Forums--HN3384