Sacrificing children for tax cuts, Senate GOP leaders unveil secret health care bill

Sacrificing children for tax cuts, Senate GOP leaders unveil secret health care bill


http://educationvotes.nea.org/2017/06/21/sacrificing-children-tax-cuts-senate-gop-leaders-unveil-secret-health-care-bill/

Posted June 21, 2017

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According to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, the number of uninsured children could rise by up to 16.5 million.


Medicaid provides health coverage for 36 million children and $4 billion per year to schools for special needs students. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Medicaid reimburses schools for mental health care, vision and hearing screenings, diabetes and asthma management, wheelchairs, hearing aids, and more. Capping federal support for Medicaid will shift costs to the states, jeopardizing services essential for students to learn and thrive, especially those with disabilities.

With the hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid expected (the GOP House version of the bill, also called TrumpCare, cut the program by $834 billion), public schools will have to reduce the number of nurses, social workers, speech therapists, counselors, psychologists and physical therapists. For many children, schools are the primary point of entry to receiving needed health, social services and medical devices.

The most far-reaching change in TrumpCare is a radical restructuring of Medicaid, the largest government-run health program with more than 70 million beneficiaries, half of whom are children. The House’s American Health Care Act has been described as “Robin Hood in reverse” because it takes from the most vulnerable — children, the poor, the sick and the elderly — to give the wealthy $664 billion in tax cuts.

The Kaiser Family Foundation’s report concludes:

Reductions in children’s coverage would result in fewer children accessing needed care, including preventive services such as well child visits and immunizations. Research also suggests that reductions in children’s coverage could have broader long-term negative effects on their health, education, and financial success as adults.