By Barb Arland-Fye
Editorial
A parent of an adult son with a developmental disability emailed three members of Congress urging them to oppose a proposed, devastating reduction in Medicaid and SNAP benefits that the parent’s son depends on. He is one of more than 700,000 Iowans who depend on Medicaid for health care coverage and related services.
Two of the Congress members, one a senator and the other a representative, assured the parent that they support protecting Medicaid and SNAP for the most vulnerable of our population. They say it is also necessary to root out waste, fraud and abuse wherever it may exist. Fraud, however, appears to pale in comparison to the proposed draconian tax cuts whose biggest beneficiaries would be taxpayers with the largest incomes.
Referencing a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report, the “overall 2024 improper payment rate (for Medicaid) was 5.09%, down from 8.58% in 2023,” the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states. “It’s important to note that most of the improper payments are made for eligible health services for people who were eligible for Medicaid; the issue is that proper documentation for the payments is missing,” the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states (https://tinyurl.com/46urb7c5).
The American Hospital Association (AHA) reports that “Medicaid provides health care coverage to one in five Americans — more than 70 million people — including 40% of all children and 60% of all nursing home residents.” A joint federal-state program, Medicaid “covers primary and acute care services, as well as long-term care services and supports, for low-income populations, including children and their families, seniors, disabled individuals and adults, many of whom work” (https://tinyurl.com/4sah78j9). AHA opposes the massive cut — projected to reduce the deficit by $715 billion over 10 years — because of the devastating consequences for vulnerable persons and the hospitals that serve them.
All of Iowa’s Congress members are among the lawmakers who voted in support of the federal budget reconciliation bill that includes these draconian cuts. “Our priority remains the same: strengthen and sustain Medicaid for those whom the program was intended to serve: expectant mothers, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly,” said Congressman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky in a May 13 statement. He chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee, which the House Budget Committee tasked with identifying $880 billion in savings and new revenue for the bill.
The legislation would establish “common sense work requirements for capable, but not working adults in the (Medicaid) expansion population,” Guthrie said. He insists that the “work requirements would apply only to able-bodied adults without dependents who don’t have a disqualifying condition …All of this is part of our efforts to strengthen Medicaid for the people that need it most.” (https://tinyurl.com/yc2hcvnt).
However, this sweeping approach inevitably will weaken, not strengthen Medicaid for recipients, who could end up losing eligibility or vital services in the sweep up. We ought to take the moral approach, supporting the checks and balances already in place!
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pastoral letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy states our moral obligation clearly: “As followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a fundamental ‘option for the poor’ — to speak for the voiceless, to defend the defenseless, to assess life styles, policies, and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor.” Furthermore, “the tax system should be continually evaluated in terms of its impact on the poor. … The “tax system should raise adequate revenues to pay for the public needs of society, especially to meet the needs of the poor” (https://tinyurl.com/9h4tsech).
Disappointingly, the Iowa Legislature passed a bill in the legislative session that just ended that affects some 180,000 members of the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan by adding work requirements for participants, with some exceptions. The wellness plan provides affordable health coverage through Medicaid to Iowans ages 19-64 whose income does not exceed 133% of the federal poverty level.
As the Iowa Catholic Conference pointed out in opposing this legislation, about 75% of Iowa’s Medicaid recipients are already working. “Those who are not often face barriers such as lack of education, struggles with mental health, substance abuse or a criminal conviction. Many recipients work in low-wage industries with low rates of employer-sponsored insurance. These same Iowans would likely have difficulty navigating the new reporting requirements, which also are added to the SNAP (food stamps) program.” We must remain vigilant regarding the work requirement and its effects on Medicaid recipients. The ICC website is a good resource to do so (iowacatholicconference.org).
Nationally, our voices can provide the amplification that Medicaid recipients need to maintain health care/life care services. The House Budget Committee advanced the federal budget reconciliation bill late Sunday night. It is not too late, however, to voice our opposition
(votervoice.net/USCCB/Campaigns/121512/Respond). We can also email, write or phone our Congress members (congress.gov). Vulnerable children and adults are depending on us.
Barb Arland-Fye, Editor
arland-fye@davenportdiocese.org
