Minority Leader Aune: “I urge [Sen. Hawley] to put his money where his mouth is, to really show us that he believes in working Missourians and he cares about the support that working Missourians deserve. And I hope he votes no.”
Today, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, and former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Chiquita Brooks-LaSure joined Defend America Action on a press call to condemn the House-passed Republican budget plan that slashes funding for health care and food assistance in order to pay for massive tax breaks for corporations and the ultra-wealthy, and to urge Missouri Senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmit to vote against the bill when it reaches the Senate.
Speakers on the call highlighted how the Trump-backed Republican budget will harm their communities, particularly those who depend on Medicaid and families whose children depend on basic needs programs like free school lunches.
“Eliminating that opportunity for free school lunches, eliminating food aid is something that is fully unconscionable now. And what I might note is why are we doing this? […] It’s to give billionaires and multi-millionaires even greater tax cuts at a time when they’re doing better than they have ever done before,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “We have seen closures of rural hospitals, a reduction in health services throughout the state, and not just children in urban areas, but children all around the state, relying on free and reduced lunches and breakfasts to make sure they can survive. This is the wrong direction for Missouri.”
“We are going to see folks kicked off of their coverage. And we know that when folks are removed from health coverage, it drives premiums up. It drives out of pocket costs up, and frankly, it compromises the overall quality of care that Missourians receive in this state,” said Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune. “It’s wildly inappropriate to even consider this policy proposal. And I certainly hope [Sen. Hawley] does the right thing for someone who claims to be standing up for working Missourians and who cares about working families in this state. I urge him to put his money where his mouth is, to really show us that he believes in working Missourians and he cares about the support that working Missourians deserve. And I hope he votes no.”
“Both Medicaid and marketplace coverage are foundational in helping millions of Americans live healthy lives, and they are also vital to our economy by keeping our hospitals, especially rural ones, open, and bolstering our health care workforce.” said former CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “There is never a time, but certainly not now, to enact the largest cut to both Medicaid and marketplaces just to give more tax breaks to the rich.”
BACKGROUND
THE GOP BUDGET SLASHES HEALTH CARE AND FOOD ASSISTANCE TO PAY FOR TAX BREAKS FOR BILLIONAIRES: House Republicans voted for an unpopular, unaffordable tax break for the wealthiest people in the country, and they’re paying for it by raising costs, taking away health care, and slashing school lunches for working families in Missouri.
- COSTS GOING UP WHILE BILLIONAIRE TAXES GO DOWN: House Democrats released a nonpartisan CBO analysis confirming Republicans’ plan will raise health care costs for working families and take away Medicaid from millions of people, all to pay for a massive tax break for the ultra-wealthy.
- THE GOP BUDGET WILL SLASH HEALTH CARE ACCESS: House Republicans’ budget will kick an estimated 157,000 Missourians off Medicaid in order to pay for tax breaks for billionaires – even though 91 percent of Missouri voters oppose cuts to Medicaid. This will create at least a $9 billion hole over 10 years in the Missouri state budget and cause premium costs and out-of-pocket costs to rise for over 331,000 Missourians.
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- This bill works to remove as many Medicaid recipients as possible under the guise of “work requirements.” In reality, virtually all Medicaid recipients work, are caregivers, are elderly or have disabilities.
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- Medicaid disproportionately serves children, older people, and people with disabilities, and in Missouri, this includes:
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- 225,766 working adults
- 747,300 women
- 611,500 children
- 110,070 older Missourians
- 159,271 non-elderly Missourians of color
- Over one-third of working-age Missourians with disabilities
- 65 percent of all nursing home residents in Missouri
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- FOOD ASSISTANCE SLASHED: House Republicans’ budget cuts free and reduced-cost school meals, Meals on Wheels, and the nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children. They’re putting food assistance at risk for over 246,000 Missouri households across the state.
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- This bill amounts to the largest cuts to food assistance in history. Republicans’ bill will also enact new unnecessary burdens for older Americans and families with children applying for basic needs programs, while freezing future benefit increases that help households adjust to rising food costs.
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