Latest news with #U.S.HouseCommitteeonEnergyand
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Mr. Moore...Mr. Moore?': Lawmakers caught sleeping during committee meetings
The Brief Rep. Blake Moore was shaken awake by Rep. Michelle Fischbach to vote during an all-night Ways and Means Committee hearing. Two other lawmakers, Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Debbie Dingell, dozed off during a 20-hour House Committee meeting. Dingell and Schakowsky joked about their exhaustion while fighting for healthcare access in late-night sessions. WASHINGTON - Seems like even the country's lawmakers know that politics can be a bit of a snoozefest as a few had to be woken up during committee sessions. The backstory On Wednesday, Representative Blake Moore of Utah had to be shaken awake, by Minnesota Rep. Michelle Fischbach, to cast his vote on an amendment during an all-night Ways and Means Committee hearing. The meeting started around 2:30 p.m. local time and continued on through the night. The meeting focused on discussing and voting on amendments to a Republican reconciliation bill. RELATED: Democrats are deeply pessimistic about future of the party, poll finds Footage showed Moore sound asleep in his chair as he was called on to vote on an amendment around 5 a.m. Wednesday local time Two other lawmakers also fell asleep during a marathon U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce markup meeting that lasted for more than 20 hours. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, 80, of Illinois, and Rep. Debbie Dingell, 71, of Michigan, each appeared to fall asleep at different points during the meeting that was held to discuss and vote on amendments to the budget bill. What they're saying Dingell commented on the situation in a post on X, saying: "Been up for 31 hours straight fighting Republicans trying to gut Medicaid. Closed my eyes to think about an America where everyone has access to quality, affordable health care." Schakowsky also posted a comment, saying: "We're on hour 25 of our marathon markup where my colleagues and I are fighting all day and night to protect health care access for all Americans." RELATED: Biden's team considered wheelchair amid health concerns: New book The Source Storyful contributed to this report. The information in this story comes from various sources, including footage of Rep. Blake Moore sleeping during a Ways and Means Committee hearing, as well as comments from Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Debbie Dingell shared on X (formerly Twitter). This story was reported from Los Angeles.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
We're rural Oregon doctors. Medicaid cuts will disproportionately hurt rural Oregonians
Oregon Rep. Cliff Bentz, center, voted for a proposal to cut Medicaid funding. (Photo by) The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, including Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, voted Wednesday to potentially slash Medicaid coverage and vital rural health care funding. After significant pushback by constituents, more draconian cuts to Medicaid were avoided for now, and some Republicans are claiming the proposals still in play don't cut Medicaid. However, as Bentz and other Oregon Congress members consider their vote, we doctors and health care providers who serve rural Oregon would like to set the record straight. We provide health care across rural Oregon and know Medicaid and health care workforce funding are lifelines for Oregonians, especially in rural communities whose care infrastructure is fundamentally reliant on federal support. Across the Eastern and Southern Oregon counties that make up Bentz's district, nearly half of the population relies on Medicaid coverage for health care. If as projected, nearly 9 million Americans — more than twice the population of Oregon — lose Medicaid coverage through these cuts in order to achieve more than $900 billion in budget 'savings', with additional cuts in rural funding looming, the consequences will be catastrophic nationally. Here at home, according to estimates from the Oregon governor's office, as many as 30-40% of Oregon's children, families and individuals may be disenrolled from Medicaid as a result. Rural community health centers and hospitals face the very real threat of closure. Cuts like these will shatter health care access in rural areas, decimate local economies and eliminate essential jobs, leaving more Oregonians without insurance. To be clear: Any reduction in federal support for critical health care access, benefits or the health care workforce in Oregon, especially in our rural communities, is unacceptable. As health care professionals, we know the consequences of denying coverage and access are stark: essential health care is delayed for weeks, even months. A simple infection, easily treated, can escalate into a life-threatening emergency. Crucial cancer screenings are postponed, allowing small tumors to spread undetected. Instead of local care, individuals are forced to travel hours for necessary services. The proposal in front of the House contains strategies misaligned with access and coverage, such as raising administrative barriers to coverage by instituting 'work requirements' and requiring more frequent reapplications for coverage. We know that programs in Arkansas and Georgia failed to effectively implement similar strategies cost-effectively, and people lost access to care. Spreading a similar strategy nationwide will be harmful, particularly in rural communities which lack adequate opportunities for good jobs. Another proposed scheme is forcing low-income patients with Medicaid to pay part of the cost of their care. This has been tried before in Oregon and other states, and the results reliably lead to poorer health outcomes, people avoiding necessary care and a lack of any reliable cost savings. These proposals are the opposite of common sense. Decreases in access and coverage always result in higher costs for all Oregonians, including those with private insurance in urban areas. These choices are about lives, not ideology. Just like in surgery, if we use blunt, outdated instruments that we know through experience don't work to make cuts in health care, we will fail and cause damage to real people. We would call that malpractice. We envision a better future for Oregon and our nation, one that transcends shortsighted cuts and divisive rhetoric. We acknowledge the need for improvements in American health care, and know these changes must be strategic and carefully implemented — eliminating harmful bureaucracy and enhancing good care, ultimately saving money by ensuring better care for more people. Oregon leads the country in innovative approaches to care delivery models. We have demonstrated that we can save lives and taxpayer dollars by expanding access to quality care for more people, not fewer. Federal and state investments in home-grown models like Coordinated Care Organizations , improving primary care and comprehensive maternity care have yielded remarkable results: expanding health coverage, improving care quality, and generating billions of dollars in savings for the federal government and U.S. taxpayers. Instead of depriving rural communities of essential health access and resources, we should scale proven strategies nationwide and support further innovation in health care, so it works better for everyone. We urge Bentz and our other federal legislators to lead with vision, drawing upon evidence-based, successful models to expand coverage and access for communities across the nation. Prioritize sound practice and responsible economics by preserving and building upon what we know works, not spreading what we have already seen fail. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House GOP proposes all-out assault on Medicaid
Getty Images Threats to Medicaid are mounting, with the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce unveiling a new, harmful plan this past weekend that would not only have a devastating impact on Michiganders' ability to access health care, but lead to a catastrophic ripple effect on our state's health care systems and economy. Under the plan, up to 512,000 adults in Michigan could lose coverage due to new, punitive work requirements. This latest news comes at a time when Michiganders have sent a loud-and-clear message that they don't want cuts to Medicaid. In fact, according to new statewide polling results released last week, 83% of Michigan voters across political views and party affiliations want to see Medicaid spending either increased or kept the same. EPIC·MRA, with support from the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan, Michigan Association of Health Plans, Michigan Health & Hospital Association, Michigan Primary Care Association, and Protect MI Care, conducted the new statewide poll to determine where Michiganders stand on the proposed Medicaid cuts. The poll also showed that 82% of Michiganders oppose cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts and 80% said Medicaid is important in their communities. More than 2.6 million Michiganders — including more than 1 million children — rely on Medicaid for their health care coverage. This includes 1 in 5 adults ages 19-64, 2 in 5 children, 3 in 5 nursing home residents, 1 in 6 Medicare beneficiaries and 3 in 8 working-age adults with are our family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors, and they live in every county in our state. Each and every one of them deserves to be able to access the care they need in order to live healthy lives. Health care providers, advocates urge Michigan congressional delegation to vote no on Medicaid cuts In addition to providing health care coverage to nearly half of Michigan's kids, Medicaid covered 45% of all babies born in our state last year and allows more than 270,000 older Michiganders to live safely at home or in caregiving facilities. It also serves as a lifeline for Michiganders seeking care at behavioral health and substance use treatment centers in rural and underserved areas, and, statewide, it protects families who otherwise couldn't afford care from serious health consequences and insurmountable financial burdens. Medicaid is foundational to Michigan's health care delivery systems, providing an essential source of funding for hospitals, nursing homes, Community Mental Health Services Programs, schools and Emergency Medical Services. The program brings over $19 billion in federal funding to Michigan, supporting care, providers and thousands of jobs. In addition to stripping health care away from hundreds of thousands of Michiganders, the implementation and administration of the House GOP's proposed work requirements would lead to exorbitant administrative costs, with Michigan taxpayers footing a potential $155 million bill in the first year alone. This is funding that would be put to much better use as a means to maintain and, better yet, increase health care coverage for the people who call Michigan home. The plan also proposes tax 'reforms' that could result in a $3 billion annual loss in funding for our state, including a $2.3 billion decrease in payments to Michigan hospitals and upwards of $325 million in cuts to nursing homes. The closures of hospitals and other health care facilities are a real possibility under this plan, which would be deeply felt in rural and underserved areas where health care accessibility is already a major issue. Let's be clear: this new plan is an all-out assault on Medicaid that would push families off coverage, overwhelm hospitals with uncompensated care and deepen workforce shortages in essential health care services. We here at the Michigan League for Public Policy continue to stand strong in our fight to protect Medicaid, and we do not stand alone. We stand together with the majority of Michiganders and the more than 150 organizations that make up the Protect MI Care coalition. The stakes right now could not be higher, which is why the League is proud to have helped launch the Protect MI Care coalition in order to build a united front against any cuts or caps to Medicaid. The health and well-being of Michiganders and our state economy depend on it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
