A joint call of the GIH Kids’ Access Funders Network and the GIH Health Reform Resource Center
Efforts by Congress to rein in the federal budget deficit include a number of plans that significantly reduce spending on key social programs. A recent proposal to cap total federal spending to no more than 20.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product is attracting a considerable amount of attention. The proposal includes limiting spending on health programs, which would seriously affect the sustainability and affordability of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that federal spending on Medicaid would be cut by $547 billion in the first nine years, a figure that will grow substantially in subsequent decades. Reductions in federal Medicaid spending have major implications for states and their ability to provide health coverage for their low-income residents, as well as their ability to implement the Affordable Care Act. On this call, Robert Greenstein, President of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, discussed the various budget plans before Congress, and their possible impact on Medicaid and other social programs.
Listed below are several resources, selected by Dr. Greenstein, which he thought would be of particular interest to the group:
- A Framework for Deficit Reduction: Principles and Cautions
- Balanced Budget Amendment Would Require More Extreme Cuts Than Ryan Plan Chief Sponsor Cites Republican Study Committee Budget, Which Would Cut $9 Trillion Over Next Decade, as Model
- Medicaid Block Grant Would Shift Financial Risks and Costs to States States Would Bear Impact of Recessions, Higher Medical Costs
- Repealing Health Reforms Maintenance of Effort Provision Could Cause Millions of Children, Parents, Seniors, and People with Disabilities to Lose Coverage
- Chairman Ryan Gets Nearly Two-Thirds of His Huge Budget Cuts From Programs for Lower-Income Americans
- Ryan Medicaid Block Grant Would Cause Severe Reductions in Health Care and Long-Term Care for Seniors, People with Disabilities, and Children