Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) have
broken down the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid proposed by the House Republicans in their budget, district by district.
In a letter to their colleagues on the Energy And Commerce Committee the pair sent along with the new district-by-district impact map, Waxman and Pallone lay into the plan and say their new district project makes their case that the Medicare plan is a bad idea. A separate map breaks down the impact of Medicaid cuts in the Republican proposal on every district.
"The Republican's budget would end Medicare as we know it. It also slashes Medicaid programs that cover millions of seniors in nursing homes and provide basic coverage for tens of millions of children," they write. "These Republican proposals would have a devastating impact on every congressional district in the country for generations to come."
Here's just one example, Rep. Paul Ryan's district:
In the 1st congressional district in Wisconsin, which Rep. Paul Ryan represents, these provisions could:
- Reduce coverage for 12,800 dual eligible seniors and individuals with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to supplement their Medicare coverage or pay their Medicare cost sharing.
- Jeopardize nursing home care for 1,900 whose expenses are paid by Medicaid.
- Impair the health care of 47,000 children, including 3,900 newborns each year, who receive coverage under Medicaid.
- Cut payments to hospitals for 32,000 emergency room visits paid for by Medicaid each year.
- Cut payments to hospitals for 10,700 inpatient visits paid for by Medicaid each year.
- Reduce jobs and hurt economic growth by eliminating $1.4 billion in Medicaid spending.
....
Impacts on the Economy. Under the Republican budget, federal Medicaid assistance would be cut by $771 billion over the next decade, an average of over $13,000 per enrollee for each of the almost 60 million Medicaid enrollees nationwide. In Rep. Ryan's district, cuts of this magnitude would mean a loss of $1.4 billion in federal health care funding over the next decade. The impact of these cuts would ripple through the state and local economy, costing jobs for health care providers and suppliers, slowing economic recovery, and reducing income taxes and other revenues.
Ouch.