Idaho Democrats Celebrate 60 Years of Medicare and Medicaid, Highlight Record of Expanding Care

On the 60th Anniversary of the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea released the following statement:

“For sixty years, Medicare and Medicaid have helped Americans live longer, healthier lives and delivered care when it mattered most. Here in Idaho, that means access to lifesaving health care for over half a million people, including seniors, people with disabilities, working families, and rural communities who would otherwise go without.

“It was Democrats who created Medicare and Medicaid, and it’s been Democrats ever since who have fought to strengthen and expand them. President Lyndon Johnson signed these programs into law. President Barack Obama built on that legacy with the Affordable Care Act, which extended coverage, protected people with pre-existing conditions, and gave millions of Americans peace of mind. In Idaho, when Republican leaders failed to act, the people voted to expand Medicaid, bringing care to more than 100,000 of our neighbors.

“Today’s Republican Party is doing the opposite. The Trump regime and Congressional Republicans made the largest Medicaid cut in U.S. history to fund tax breaks for billionaires. As a result, Idahoans will lose access to health care, see their local clinics and hospitals shut down, and face skyrocketing prices for prescription drugs.

“Idaho Democrats won’t stand by while Republicans attack our health care. We’ll keep fighting to strengthen and protect these programs, because they reflect who we are at our best: a country that cares for its people.”

Donald Trump and the GOP’s billionaire-first budget includes the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, ripping away health care from 17 million people, to fund another round of tax handouts for their billionaire donors. The GOP budget bill: 

• Rips away health care from at least 72,815 Idahoans.
• Cuts over $1 trillion from Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act — including the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.
• Puts at least 3 rural Idaho hospitals at risk of shutting down, ripping away critical, lifesaving care from hundreds of rural communities across the country.
• Forces at least 1 in 4 nursing homes to close their doors.
• Cuts $1.3 trillion in food assistance and health coverage while giving the wealthy that exact amount in tax breaks.
• Enacts the largest wealth transfer in history from the working and middle classes to the ultra-rich:
  
  
• Republicans are slashing incomes among the poorest 20% by 3.8% while increasing the incomes of the richest 20% by 3.7%.
• Americans making under $15,000 — below the federal poverty level — will see their taxes increase by 12% in the short term and jump 73% by 2033.
• Americans making above $1,000,000 — more than 50 times the federal poverty level — will get an average tax handout of $79,000.