Udall Joins Senators in Urging President-Elect Trump to Oppose Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid

Washington - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined 20 of his Senate colleagues in writing a letter to President-Elect Donald Trump urging him to keep his campaign promises not to cut Medicare and Medicaid programs.

President-elect Trump's transition team and Republicans in Congress are calling for sweeping changes to the Medicare and Medicaid programs that would increase the Medicare eligibility age, privatize Medicare, replace guaranteed benefits with vouchers and raise out-of-pocket costs. These changes would put benefits at risk for millions of middle- and low-income seniors and families throughout New Mexico and the nation.

"Over a million New Mexicans depend on Medicare and Medicaid to help protect their health, well-being and financial security," Udall said. "Medicare and Medicaid allow children, seniors and people with disabilities to see a doctor when they're sick, get the medicine they need, and access preventive care that helps keep them healthy. The proposed changes from President-elect Trump and congressional Republicans would gut Medicare and Medicaid and would put New Mexicans at risk of losing health care benefits. I urge President-elect Trump to make good on his campaign promises not to make cuts to these vital programs."

"During your campaign for President of the United States, you differentiated yourself from your 16 primary opponents by noting that you were the only Republican who would protect Medicare and Medicaid," the senators wrote in the letter. "After winning the election, you suddenly appear to be using language supporting policies that would gut the Medicare and Medicaid programs."

The senators pressed President-elect Trump to live up to his campaign promises and reject any cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. They wrote, "We ask that you rapidly and publicly clarify in plain language for the American public that you continue to stand behind your campaign promises; that you will not raise the Medicare eligibility age; that you will not privatize, voucherize, or otherwise cut Medicare benefits; and that you will not put in place changes to Medicaid that force enrollees' coverage to be dropped and benefits to be cut or limited. You promised Americans you would not cut Medicare or Medicaid-please tell Americans you will stand by your promise to them."


A copy of the letter is below and at this link .

Dear President-Elect Trump:

We are writing to you to express our strong concerns that you have been remarkably inconsistent in your important campaign promise to protect and defend the Medicare and Medicaid programs and appear now to support policies that endanger the Medicare and Medicaid benefits that provide health care to tens of millions of seniors, people with disabilities, and low- and middle-income Americans.
The nomination of Congressman Tom Price for Secretary of Health and Human Services underscores
this concern.

During your campaign for President of the United States, you differentiated yourself from your16 primary opponents by noting that you were the only Republican who would protect Medicare and Medicaid. After winning the election, you suddenly appear to be using language supporting policies that would gut the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

You could not have been clearer during the campaign about your opposition to program cuts to our nation's bedrock health care programs. You~ campaign website proudly trumpeted that "Donald Trump won't touch your entitlements," and you claimed that "every other Republican is going to cut [these programs]," but "I'm not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid" (Figure 1). 1 It touted coverage that you "would exclude entitlement costs" from cuts to government spending (Figure 2).2 It stated your policy in plain language: "Do not cut ... Medicare benefits." And it rightly noted that "most Americans want to keep the benefits as they stand now" (Figure 3).3

This is the right policy. Over one hundred million Americans rely on these programs for health care. Low-income children and families and people with disabilities are the primary beneficiaries of Medicaid. Millions of seniors and individuals with disabilities have earned and rely on their Medicare benefits. Medicaid is the only assistance available to millions of low and middle-income families who have a loved one requiring nursing home care. As you noted when you extolled their benefits on your campaign website, cutting these programs would be devastating.

But your transition website has eliminated your earlier assurances and blatantly disregards the promises you repeatedly made during the campaign and instead now calls for sweeping changes to Medicare and Medicaid. As it currently stands, your transition team's policy proposals are shrouded in benign-sounding cliches that promise to "modernize" and "maximize flexibility" for the programs. But Americans who are watching closely can see your plans for what they are: a poorly-veiled regurgitation of the plans, supported by Republicans in the House and Senate, to gut Medicare and Medicaid. 4 Your nominee for the Secretary of Health and Human Services is a leading architect of these plans.

Your transition website states that you will "Modernize Medicare so it will be ready for ... the coming retirements of the Baby Boom generation- and beyond." And it indicates that you will overhaul Medicaid to "Maximize flexibility for states to ... experiment with innovative methods to deliver healthcare to our low-income citizens" (Figure 4). 5 These statements are nearly identical to the healthcare reform language in Speaker Ryan's "Better Way" healthcare reform plan, which states: "Our plan maximizes state flexibility" and provides incentives for states to find "innovative ways to reduce Medicaid costs."6 And on Medicare, the same report commits to: "moderniz[ e] the program to reflect the changes to health care delivery in the 21st century" by "gradually increase[ing] the Medicare retirement age."

House Republicans have been bracingly clear: they intend to work with you to pass these cuts. Reports indicate that Speaker Paul Ryan "is promoting his 'A Better Way Agenda' as a guide for Trump" on "health care" and other issues. 7 And Representative Sean Duffy stated that "it's almost a plug and play scenario."8 These Republican plans would be devastating for millions of Americans. They would increase the Medicare eligibility age.9 They would privatize Medicare, replacing guaranteed benefits with vouchers that seniors would be forced to use to purchase coverage, dramatically increasing out-ofpocket costs. 10 They would cut billions of dollars from the Medicaid program, turning the program into a "block grant" that would force states to eliminate coverage for millions of beneficiaries, cut guaranteed benefits and consumer protections, and slash provider payments.

Enacting these cuts to Medicare and Medicaid would devastate millions of middle- and low income seniors and families, and break your promise to the American people that you would "not ... cut Medicare or Medicaid."

But now it seems you have reversed course on your promises to protect Medicare and Medicaid and instead plan to dismantle these programs.

It's not too late to fix this problem. We ask that you rapidly and publicly clarify in plain language for the American public that you continue to stand behind your campaign promises; that you will not raise the Medicare eligibility age; that you will not privatize, voucherize, or otherwise cut Medicare benefits; and that you will not put in place changes to Medicaid that force enrollees' coverage to be dropped and benefits to be cut or limited. You promised Americans you would not cut Medicare or Medicaid-please tell Americans you will stand by your promise to them.

Sincerely,