Dems’ Budget Plan Offers No Medicaid Fix Despite Rampant Waste, Fraud and Abuse
April 1, 2011
FYI, a similar version of this release below went out to the following districts: Jason Altmire (PA-04), John Barrow (GA-12), Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Tim Bishop (NY-01), Dan Boren (OK-02), Leonard Boswell (IA-03), Bruce Braley (IA-01), Dennis Cardoza (CA-18), Russ Carnahan (MO-03), Ben Chandler (KY-06), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Jim Cooper (TN-05), Jim Costa (CA-20), Mark Critz (PA-12), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Joe Donnelly (IN-02), Raul Grijalva (AZ-07), Martin Heinrich (NM-01), Brian Higgins (NY-27), Jim Himes (CT-04), Maurice Hinchey (NY-22), Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15), Tim Holden (PA-17), Rush Holt (NJ-12), Jay Inslee (WA-01), Steve Israel (NY-02), Bill Keating (MA-10), Dale Kildee (MI-05), Ron Kind (WI-03), Larry Kissell (NC-08), Rick Larsen (WA-02), David Loebsack (IA-02), Jim Matheson (UT-02), Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04), Mike McIntyre (NC-07), Jerry McNerney (CA-11), Michael Michaud (ME-02), Brad Miller (NC-13), Bill Owens (NY-23), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Gary Peters (MI-09), Collin Peterson (MN-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), David Price (NC-04), Nick Rahall (WV-03), Loretta Sanchez (CA-47), Heath Shuler (NC-11), Adam Smith (WA-09), Betty Sutton (OH-13), John Tierney (MA-06), Niki Tsongas (MA-05), Pete Visclosky (IN-01), Tim Walz (MN-01), Anthony Weiner (NY-09), David Wu (OR-01), John Yarmuth (KY-03)
Shuler Stands With Budget Plan Offering No Medicaid Fix Despite Rampant Waste, Fraud and Abuse
North Carolina Democrat Stands With Budget Plan That Fails to Fix Medicaid
Washington — Despite the fact that his fellow Democrats acknowledge the problem of waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid and Medicare and nonpartisan estimates pin it in the $70 billion range, Heath Shuler continues to stand with his Democrat leaders’ budget plan that conspicuously omits any solution to improve Medicaid for those who need it. Shuler is seemingly more interested in aiding his Democrat leaders protect their big-spending policies of the past instead of engaging in ways to reduce their record deficit levels and protect programs like Medicaid for future generations.
“Heath Shuler continues to demonstrate that he is unwilling to bring the fiscal reform that his North Carolina constituents demand, and with Medicaid that is especially important for protecting the program for the future,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “Even though nonpartisan reports detail $70 billion in waste, and his fellow Democrats admit the problem, Shuler continues to stand with a timid budget plan that simply kicks the can down the road.”
Democrat leaders have often said waste, fraud and abuse “must” be eliminated from Medicaid and Medicare:
“‘The scale of health care fraud in America today is staggering,’ Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.) said at a hearing. ‘Now, as health care reform moves through the Senate, I want to make sure we do all we can to tackle the fraud that could undermine efforts to reduce the skyrocketing cost of health care.'” (Jane Zhang, “Lawmakers Target Medicare and Medicaid Fraud,”
The Wall Street Journal, 10/28/09)
“We simply must make the cuts in waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare so that the benefits and the premiums are untouched.” (Nancy Pelosi, “Remarks by the President, Senator Alexander, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Reid in Opening Statements at Bipartisan meeting on Health Care Reform,” The White House, 2/25/2010)
And yet nonpartisan reports claim that there are over $70 billion in existing waste in Medicare and Medicaid:
“In fiscal year 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)–the agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid–estimated that these programs made a total of over $70 billion in improper payments.” (“Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, Waste, and Abuse: Effective Implementation of Recent Laws and Agency Actions Could Help Reduce Improper Payments,”
U.S. Government Accountability Office, 3/9/11)
And the Democrats’ budget conspicuously left out any plans to protect Medicaid:
“President Obama’s budget for fiscal year 2012 landed with a thud Monday, laying out short- and long-term tax and spending plans that disappointed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The proposal was a remarkably tame response to Washington’s fiscal problems, not the bold statement about belt-tightening that the White House had suggested was coming. Yet the biggest shortcoming is that it all but ignored the most important long-term financial challenge, which is the growing cost of entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid.” (Editorial, “Obama’s overly tame budget,”
Los Angeles Times, 2/15/11)
Even though waste, fraud and abuse threatens Medicaid and costs taxpayers billions of dollars, Heath Shuler continues to stand with the Democrat budget plan that does nothing to address the problem. Shuler will certainly have to explain to his North Carolina constituents why he refuses to take the bold action needed here to protect Medicaid for future generations and promote greater fiscal responsibility.
Dems’ budget plan offers no Medicaid fix despite $70B in waste and fraud http://ow.ly/4rjbG #MadeinWDC
###