[Pages S2848-S2849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MEDICAID

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last week, hospital leaders from every 
corner of my State of Illinois came to Washington. What was the reason 
for the trip? The debate in Washington about the future of Medicaid.
  Each and every one of them, from the city of Chicago through the most 
rural areas in the State, was concerned about the plans by the 
Republicans in Congress to change the funding for Medicaid. From the 
South Side of Chicago to Macomb in West Central Illinois, as well as 
Rockford, 20 miles from the Wisconsin border, and Carbondale, all the 
way downstate, they came to see me.
  These are small, critical access hospitals in rural areas, the safety 
net hospitals treating the poorest patients and the large teaching 
hospitals in downtown Chicago. They are all focused on Medicaid.
  All of them told me the Medicaid cuts that Republicans have put on 
the table would be devastating to their hospitals in every corner of my 
State--devastating to the doctors and nurses that they employ and 
especially hurtful to the patients and their families.
  One told me that it is the only hospital in a 60-mile radius 
delivering babies. If Republican plans to cut Medicaid go through, this 
life-or-death care could be out of reach for pregnant mothers.
  Another safety net hospital told me they might have to close their 
doors altogether if the Medicaid cuts happen.
  Why? Why would Republicans in Congress even want to jeopardize 
healthcare and ring alarm bells in hospitals across America? They are 
trying to ``save $880 billion.''
  Well, what is the critical need to save that? To perpetuate the tax 
breaks of the Trump administration for the wealthiest people in 
America. Yep, that is the game plan. That is right.
  President Trump and his billionaire buddy Elon Musk, the richest man 
in the world, have asked Republicans in Congress to provide a massive 
giveaway to the wealthiest Americans, and they want to use Medicaid 
cuts as the piggy bank.
  Let's be clear: This is not a healthcare reform plan to improve our 
healthcare system or lower costs for families and patients. Nope. 
Republicans are looking to dismantle the basic Medicaid Program to help 
the tax cuts for billionaires.
  Don't take my word for it. It is not just another political speech. 
Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a 
bombshell report. I am sure the Republicans in charge of the House and 
Senate didn't anticipate this. The Congressional Budget Office reviewed 
the Republican plans to cut Medicaid and determined the only way 
Republicans can ``save money'' is by removing millions of Americans 
from this health insurance, slashing benefits, or cutting access to 
doctors, nurses, and dentists.
  For weeks, Republicans have been adamant that they are only focused 
on addressing waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid. Then comes the CBO 
report.

[[Page S2849]]

  I want to agree with the basic premise that, if there is 
inappropriate spending, fix it. But that is not what is happening here, 
and I think the Republican majority knows it.
  The Congressional Budget Office called their bluff and confirmed that 
these Medicaid cuts proposed by the Republicans are not about waste or 
efficiency. They are about restricting access to coverage to patients 
all across the United States, including in my State of Illinois.
  Under Republicans' watch, CBO stated that 13.7 million Americans will 
have their health insurance coverage terminated. Almost 14 million 
Americans will lose healthcare coverage if the Republicans go forward 
with their plan. What is the acceptable number of constituents losing 
health coverage for Republicans?
  Nationwide, half of all rural hospitals are already in the red, and 
more than 300 rural hospitals are facing immediate closure, including 
26 in Kansas, 22 in Alabama, 21 in Texas, and 9 in Missouri. How many 
rural hospitals closing in their States are Republicans willing to 
accept to help perpetuate tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans?
  Let me tell you, as a person from downstate Illinois, rural hospitals 
are the backbone of the community. Not only are they critical places 
for emergency medical care, but they are the anchors of the local 
economy.
  Speaking of the economy, one of the ways Republicans plan to cut 
Medicaid is by imposing burdensome, redtape requirements.
  Put paperwork in the path of an individual looking for medical care. 
Pile it up. Make it hard. Pitched by the Republicans as just simply 
``work requirements,'' this policy withholds healthcare for eligible 
patients until they meet overly complex paperwork requirements. It is a 
failing strategy.
  In the States that have tried the so-called work requirements, there 
has been no increase in employment. The only impact is with patients 
who are ruled ineligible and kicked off Medicaid because they were 
drowning in paperwork. What a way to run a country.
  Here is an example: A waitress with diabetes misses a paperwork 
deadline because the forms were sent to her old address. She loses her 
Medicaid coverage and can't access her medications and is forced to 
miss work to deal with it.
  One analysis determined that approximately 3 million manufacturing, 
agricultural, and service sector workers could become uninsured under 
the simply ``Make sure they are going to work'' plan. Who thinks that 
is a good idea?
  Yesterday, House Republicans spent Mother's Day scheming on how to 
advance these Medicaid cuts, finally releasing a copy of their 
legislation so we could see the detail. It is as catastrophic as we 
feared. It is the largest cut in Medicaid in the Nation's health 
history, ripping health insurance away from millions of Americans in 
every single State.
  But it is not too late for a few Republicans--and it only takes a 
few: four in the House, four in the Senate--to step up and say they 
don't want to be part of this, if they will stand up and say: No, we 
will not risk the healthcare for millions of Americans as bargaining 
chips for billionaire tax breaks.
  Medicaid provides health insurance for 1 out of every 4 people in my 
State of Illinois--3.4 million people, including 1.5 million children. 
Medicaid pays to deliver half of all the babies in my State--half of 
them. Two-thirds of the seniors in nursing homes depend on Medicaid. If 
Medicaid is not helping to pay for that nursing home or care for 
seniors, what is going to happen to grandma, grandfathers, those that 
are affected by it? It is the largest funder of opioid addiction 
treatment.
  Remember the image of Elon Musk--the richest man in the world--
laughing gleefully as he danced around a stage with a chain saw in his 
hand? The richest man in the world was laughing out loud about his 
chain saw cuts to Medicaid. Well, these cuts are no laughing matter for 
that rural hospital worried about having to close its mental health 
services. They are no laughing matter for the pregnant woman forced to 
drive more than an hour to deliver a baby because the local hospital 
shuttered its obstetrics unit.
  Wipe that smile off your face, Mr. Musk. We are talking about life-
and-death healthcare for America's working families.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Britt). The Senator from Texas.

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