More Frightening Than A Scary Movie: The Congressional Budget Agreement
The House and Senate leaders agreed on a budget blueprint today. They agreed to deep and far-reaching cuts in domestic spending and safety net programs, which will in part pay for more than $100 billion in tax cuts that are mostly targeted to very rich people.
The budget agreement includes $10 billion in cuts in the Medicaid program spread over five years. What does that mean?
First, it can’t be good news for the 45 million people who don’t have health insurance (and it isn’t so good for those of us who do–business and individual health insurance premiums are likely to go up even more).
To save $3 million in state Medicaid spending next year, Gov. Ehrlich proposed to end a case management program for kids with "rare and expensive" illnesses. The General Assembly stopped the cut, but didn’t stop another proposal to throw 3,000 kids off the Medicaid rolls (saving $5.5 million). If tossing kids off of Medicaid is our best idea for saving money, we’re in trouble when the federal cuts come through.
To refresh your memory of what else we might consider, check out our list of some of the health department's "options" that were leaked and posted on our webpage last summer (remember, denying breast cancer treatment for low-income women was on that list).
Congress also plans for more than $100 billion in additional tax cuts. This includes the extension of cuts in capital gains and dividend income tax rates. According to the Urban Institute/Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center, more than half of that cut will be received by the richest .2 percent of households. Just for emphasis, more than half of the cut goes to the richest 1 out of every 430 households. Most of the rest of us get nothing.
We're usually pretty good at math here, but these numbers are puzzling. How is it that 1 out of 430 of us get half of this tax cut, 258 out of 430 (60 percent) of us get a little more than 1 percent of this cut, and we are about to add to the 45 million of us who don't have health insurance? Is it that people are too busy trying to find a doctor or clinic that will give them free health care to pay attention to what Congress is doing?
The budget agreement includes $10 billion in cuts in the Medicaid program spread over five years. What does that mean?
First, it can’t be good news for the 45 million people who don’t have health insurance (and it isn’t so good for those of us who do–business and individual health insurance premiums are likely to go up even more).
To save $3 million in state Medicaid spending next year, Gov. Ehrlich proposed to end a case management program for kids with "rare and expensive" illnesses. The General Assembly stopped the cut, but didn’t stop another proposal to throw 3,000 kids off the Medicaid rolls (saving $5.5 million). If tossing kids off of Medicaid is our best idea for saving money, we’re in trouble when the federal cuts come through.
To refresh your memory of what else we might consider, check out our list of some of the health department's "options" that were leaked and posted on our webpage last summer (remember, denying breast cancer treatment for low-income women was on that list).
Congress also plans for more than $100 billion in additional tax cuts. This includes the extension of cuts in capital gains and dividend income tax rates. According to the Urban Institute/Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center, more than half of that cut will be received by the richest .2 percent of households. Just for emphasis, more than half of the cut goes to the richest 1 out of every 430 households. Most of the rest of us get nothing.
We're usually pretty good at math here, but these numbers are puzzling. How is it that 1 out of 430 of us get half of this tax cut, 258 out of 430 (60 percent) of us get a little more than 1 percent of this cut, and we are about to add to the 45 million of us who don't have health insurance? Is it that people are too busy trying to find a doctor or clinic that will give them free health care to pay attention to what Congress is doing?
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