House Democrats pilloried Republican proposals to cut Medicaid Thursday, charging that cuts to the program will exacerbate the crisis.
The attacks occurred during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing to consider more than 30 bills to combat the opioid epidemic, the third in a series of hearings. The bills considered in the two-day hearing, which started Wednesday, focus on changes to Medicare and Medicaid.
Democrats charged that the bills wouldn’t do much good if Republicans succeed in cutting Medicaid. Several Democrats pointed to the Trump administration’s fiscal 2019 budget proposal that cuts Medicaid by $1.4 trillion.
“Any effort to cut the funding will severely jeopardize these services,” said Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif.
During the hearing’s first day on Wednesday, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., asked an official from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services if the agency has analyzed the impact of Trump’s budget cuts.
“Member after member has spoken to the needs of the people in their communities and the needs for access to a variety of services, one of the most important being treatment after people are hooked or addicted [to opioids],” Eshoo said. “There is a direct correlation between dollars and services.”
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., criticized the House GOP’s effort to bring up a resolution for a balanced budget amendment on Thursday.
“If enacted, the balanced budget amendment would undercut the structure of Medicare and Medicaid by opening both to dramatic reductions in funding,” she said.
There wasn’t as much disagreement on the opioid bills, except for questions about the hurried pace of the committee’s work.
The committee plans to move more than 70 bills it is considering through the House by the Memorial Day recess.
“I am concerned that the sheer quantity of bills and the chairman’s ambitious timeframe will not give us enough time to get these policies right,” Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the committee, said Wednesday.
But Pallone said many of the proposals have merit.
