Blog

June 22, 2017

Las Vegas Retirees and Workers Demand No Cuts to Medicaid

Call on Senator Heller to Oppose Drastic Cuts

Las Vegas citizens gathered at Senator Dean Heller’s Las Vegas office today to deliver petitions and strongly urged him to meet with his constituents to review the contents of the proposed U.S. Senate health care bill. The retirees and workers also called on him to oppose the drastic cuts to Medicaid – as much as $834 billion – now under consideration by Senate.

“It is outrageous that a bill this important, that can ruin so many families and retirees financially, is being written behind closed doors,” said Rich Miller, Vice President of the Nevada Alliance for Retired Americans.

“The health care bill now under consideration by the Senate will cut Medicaid by as much as $834 billion. This is in addition to Donald Trump’s 2018 fiscal year budget that adds another $600 billion in Medicaid cuts to that figure, for a total of $1.4 trillion. It is difficult to say what the cruelest aspect of this vote is, but raiding Medicare and cutting Medicaid surely are at the top of the list.”

“The expansion rollback alone could lead to loss of health coverage for 81,000 Nevadans, and the Congressional Budget Office and experts predict that 138,100 people in the state could lose coverage in total due to the American Health Care Act (AHCA).”

“More than half of national spending on long-term care, such as nursing homes, comes from Medicaid, including $500 million in Nevada last year. Long-term care is in real danger of being reduced or cut by states that are dealing with decreased Medicaid funding. A year of nursing home care often costs as much as $90,000.”

 

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