WHEREAS:
Over 35 million people, or more than 1 in 10 Americans, are covered by Medicaid, and 37 million more are covered by Medicare; and
WHEREAS:
Over 15 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries are disabled, over 12 percent are elderly, and over 50 percent are children; and
WHEREAS:
Medicaid is the nation's safety net for long-term care, paying for more than half of all nursing home care, providing benefits to two-thirds of all nursing home residents, and funding more than 75 percent of long-term care services for children and adults with developmental disabilities; and
WHEREAS:
Safety net health services and public and teaching hospitals rely heavily on both Medicaid and Medicare. These two programs pay for many services, pay for the training of physicians and other health professionals, and help finance capital improvements in hospitals; and
WHEREAS:
Medicaid is the single largest source of federal dollars to state governments, and makes up almost 20 percent of state revenues; and
WHEREAS:
Medicaid managed care and home and community-based waivers are having a negative effect on some safety net health services; and
WHEREAS:
Medicare is a highly successful federal health program that now provides basic coverage to 37 million Americans -- primarily senior citizens -- and has covered millions more since its enactment in 1965, when most elderly were uninsured; and
WHEREAS:
Medicare has contributed greatly to increased longevity and quality of life for older Americans, and has freed seniors from the fear of bankruptcy resulting from long hospitalization for acute illness; and
WHEREAS:
Medicare is not a lavish health plan, not covering prescription drugs or preventive care, but combines high quality, basic coverage with efficient administration and low overhead costs of less than three percent, compared with an average of 17 percent for private insurance; and
WHEREAS:
The Republicans in Congress launched an all-out assault on both Medicaid and Medicare in 1995, and passed a budget bill that would have cut Medicaid by almost $170 billion and cut Medicare by over $240 billion in order to pay for over $250 billion in tax cuts which would primarily benefit wealthy people and corporations; and
WHEREAS:
The GOP budget bill not only would have cut Medicaid, but would have made other changes as well -- eliminating the entitlement to coverage based on income and family status, and undermining or eliminating important federal standards, such as those for nursing homes and facilities for the developmentally disabled; and
WHEREAS:
The GOP budget bill would also have made major changes in Medicare -- introducing a means-test, providing cash incentives for the healthiest beneficiaries to leave Medicare and join private plans, thereby robbing Medicare of vital resources for the old and very sick; and
WHEREAS:
AFSCME took the lead in defending these two crucial health programs for all Americans and fought back with a campaign which included grass-roots membership education and action, media, and coalition work.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will continue to fight to preserve Medicaid and Medicare, and educate both our membership and the general public on the importance of these programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will oppose efforts to privatize Medicare and turn it over to insurance companies by pushing the youngest and healthiest beneficiaries into private plans and starving the program of needed funds -- a recipe for Medicare's destruction; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will continue to insist that Medicaid remain an entitlement and a joint state-federal matching program with federal guidelines and oversight, and not become a block grant; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will continue to insist on reforms and federal oversight of Medicaid managed care, and will fight hard for consumer safeguards in all managed care -- including Medicaid and Medicare managed care plans; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will also fight governors who want to cut Medicaid services and deny people benefits; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will insist on worker participation and input in changes in Medicaid and Medicare, such as waivers and managed care and their impact on the workplaces in which our members work.
SUBMITTED BY:
INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD