For Immediate Release
Thursday, July 25, 2002
Senate Approves Medicaid Help for States
Pushed by AFSCME, amendment to prescription drug bill would help ease impact of skyrocketing health care costs on state budgets and seniors
Washington, DC —The U.S. Senate today passed bipartisan legislation that will help alleviate the severe fiscal crisis facing states and localities by providing assistance for soaring health care costs, according to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO.
The $9 billion amendment introduced by Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Ben Nelson (D-NE), and Susan Collins (R-ME) was approved by voice vote, following a budgetary point of order that passed by a 75-24 vote. Two thirds, or $6 billion, of the funding increases federal matching dollars for Medicaid (so-called FMAP) over an 18-month period, while the remaining $3 billion provides temporary fiscal relief grants that can be used by states to fund a variety of social services.
"We have been fighting so hard to get federal aid to the states, which are dealing with massive budget shortfalls this year because of the recession, exploding health care costs, and corporate tax loopholes," said AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee. "This measure would help states continue to provide vital services such as health care, education, and public safety."
More than 45 states are confronting a cumulative budget deficit of $50 billion and rising, driven in part by Medicaid costs that have grown by 25 percent in just the last two years and that now make up more than 20 percent of state budgets. Much of this increase is due to fast-rising prescription drug costs, which have soared nearly 20 percent a year in the last several years.
This February, AFSCME summoned its activists to Washington, D.C. to come up with solutions to the state fiscal crisis. They developed a four-point plan that included greater federal Medicaid assistance and then mobilized the union's 1.3 million members to lobby elected officials across the country. As a result of these efforts, two fiscal relief amendments to the economic stimulus package received the support of a majority of senators earlier this year, but the Bush administration and U.S. House of Representatives failed to support them.
"The time has come for President Bush and the Republican House leadership to stand up in favor of temporary aid to the states to pay for essential health care services, as well as a long-term plan for bringing down prescription drug prices for seniors nationwide," McEntee added.
