Seniors Targeted In Latest Budget

Today, over one million New Yorkers receive health care through Medicare, a system created in the 1960s to ensure that every American over 65 receives the care they need.
That’s why I am fighting in Washington to prevent anyone from cutting back on Medicare - and I’m working to fix the disastrous prescription drug benefit that was rolled out late last year.
In his State of the Union address last month, the President argued for cutting government waste and cutting federal programs that aren’t “fulfilling essential priorities.” Any list of essential government programs should have Medicare near the top.
I disagree with the President’s budget proposal to freeze Medicare payments to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and home health care aides. The plan would also cut funding for oxygen supplies, knee and hip replacement and hospice care reimbursements.
These cuts would cost New York City over $355 million over the next five years and would endanger access to high quality care for the roughly 1 in 8 New Yorkers dependent on Medicare. In Queens alone, Peninsula Hospital stands to lose $2.8 million, Flushing Hospital Center would lose $3.2 million and Elmhurst Hospital would lose $4.6 million over the next five years.
The President’s budget would also increase the Medicare premiums of high income seniors. New York seniors who make between $100,000 and $150,000 a year would see their premium double.
The proposal from Washington comes on the heels of $431 million in annual Medicaid cuts rolled out by Gov. Pataki last month as part of his budget plan. Fiscal responsibility is a valuable goal, but we should not harm health care in New York, especially in our poorest communities.
The President also proposes $54 million less per year for Medicaid programs in New York City, including prescription drugs for the poor and health services provided in schools to disabled children.
The federal budget is a reflection of our national priorities. We have a responsibility to care for the sick and frail, and I’ll be fighting in Congress to make sure that hard working New Yorkers get their fair share.