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Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) just concluded 26 hours of fighting against Republican efforts to gut Medicaid and strip health coverage from millions of Americans, including 700,000 Michiganders.

“Republicans have spent this markup trying to convince the American people that Medicaid is rife with wasteful spending and is providing care to those who don’t actually need it. Here are the facts: Medicaid coverage costs 45 percent less than private insurance, and provides more comprehensive benefits than private insurance with significantly lower out-of-pocket costs for patients,” Dingell said. “Medicaid covers seniors, people with disabilities, children, pregnant women, and low-income people who rely on the program for care that keeps them healthy to provide for their family. This is critical care – not a luxury. The idea that there are millions of people on Medicaid who ‘don’t actually need’ it is flatly untrue. The provisions in this bill will kick millions of Americans off their health care plans, and people will die. It’s wrong, and I will continue to fight it.”

Congresswoman Dingell offered amendments to the bill to:

• ensure Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) would not be cut or reduced under current law;
• prevent the implementation of bureaucratic burdens that would kick eligible individuals off Medicaid and CHIP; and
• ensure Medicaid beneficiaries aren’t forced out of their homes to qualify for long-term care services;

Republicans’ budget proposal will:

• cut $700 billion from Medicaid to give billionaires a $4 trillion tax cut
• result in 13.7 million Americans losing their health coverage
• make it harder for eligible individuals to receive Medicaid with burdensome paperwork requirements
• force dozens of rural hospitals to close
• raise premiums for millions of people

View Dingell’s remarks in committee here.