Sen. Bennet, Finance Committee Democrats Denounce Trump Administration for Recent Proposals That Will Harm Medicaid Recipients

Targeted News Service (Press Releases)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- Sen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colorado, issued the following news release:

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- Letter Comes on Heels of President Trump's Budget Proposal Which Includes Nearly $1 Trillion in Cuts to Medicaid

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Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and Senate Finance Committee Democrats called on the Trump Administration to end its harmful attacks on the Medicaid program, which provides essential health care to more than 1.3 million Coloradans.

"This Administration in coordination with your Department has taken every opportunity to try to gut Medicaid and put critical health coverage for millions of vulnerable Americans on the chopping block," wrote Bennet and his colleagues. "It is time for the Trump Administration's ongoing assault on the Medicaid program to end. The public has spoken loud and clear - Medicaid serves as a lifeline to millions of Americans and their loved ones, and they do not want to see it block granted, capped, or gutted."

Last month, the Trump Administration announced new guidance for the Medicaid program that would allow states to cap spending on Medicaid and undermine the program's current structure - leading to cuts to benefits, including prescription drugs, and access to care. This week, the Trump Administration produced a budget that proposes to gut Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion, block grant and cap the program, and push their failed paperwork requirements on all states.

Such policies would lead to devastating cuts to Medicaid, jeopardizing affordable, comprehensive care for 1.3 million Coloradans, including nearly 600,000 children and 100,000 seniors. These cuts would also endanger health care for over 400,000 Coloradans benefiting from Medicaid expansion. The administration's policies hurt Colorado's seniors and individuals with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for nursing and home-based care, children and individuals with complex needs, those suffering from opioid use disorders, and individuals impacted by public health emergencies in need of critical care.

In addition to Bennet, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.).