In 14 Years in Washington, Senator Jim Talent has Voted 19 Times to Cut Billions from Medicaid
1. 2006: Talent Voted to Cut $10 Billion from Medicare and Medicaid. In March 2006, Talent voted for a Republican amendment to the budget resolution that attempted to cut a mandatory $10 billion from the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over both Medicare and Medicaid. Twelve Republican Senators voted against the cuts, but Talent was not one of them. [Vote 62, 3/16/06; CQ Today, 3/16/06]
2. 2005: Talent Voted to Slash $28 Billion from Medicaid. In December 2005, Talent cast the deciding vote in favor of a bill that will cut nearly $28 billion from Medicaid over ten years. The bill passed on a rare 51-50 vote with Vice President Cheney breaking the tie. The $28 billion cut to the Medicaid program will increase out-of pocket costs for patients, allow providers to deny service if a patient has no ability to pay the charges at the time of service and allow the state to terminate coverage if a family cannot pay premiums. [Vote 363, 12/21/05; CBO Estimate, Letter to Rep. Spratt, 1/27/06; Knight Ridder, 12/22/05]
3. 2005: Talent Voted to Slash More Than $600 Million from Medicaid. The Senate voted 54-45 in favor of Sen. Bingaman’s amendment to prevent more than $600 million in federal Medicaid cuts from hitting low-income families and children. Talent opposed the amendment. [Vote 291, 11/3/05; Congressional Record, 11/2/05]
4. 2005: Talent Voted to Cut $10 Billion from Medicaid While Providing Tax Breaks. In 2005, Talent voted to cut $10 billion from Medicaid while providing for $106 billion in tax cuts targeted towards the wealthy. The bill passed 52-47. [Vote 114,
4/28/05
;
Washington
Post,
4/28/05
;
New York
Times,
4/29/05
]
5. 2005: Talent Voted Against Restoring $14 Billion in Medicaid Cuts in Bush’s Budget. In March 2005, Talent voted against restoring $14 billion in Medicaid cuts from President Bush’s FY2006 budget – which cut Medicaid funding by $1.04 billion in Missouri alone – and establishing a bipartisan Medicaid commission to review and make recommendations to improve quality of care, service delivery and cost-efficiencies. [Vote 58, 3/17/05; Families
USA
, 2/7/05]
6. 2004: Talent Opposed Restoring $11 Billion from Medicaid. In March 2004, Talent voted against an amendment to the FY2005 Budget Resolution that would strike the reconciliation instructions to the Finance Committee to cut $11 billion in mandatory spending for Medicaid and $3 billion in spending for the earned income tax credit. The amendment passed on a bipartisan basis 53-43. Senator Bond was among those eight Republicans voting with the Democrats. [Vote 39,
3/10/04
; Kohl Press Release,
3/11/04
; CQ Today,
3/10/06
]
7-8. 1998: Talent Twice Voted to Cut $12 Billion from Medicaid. In June 1998, Talent voted for the Republicans’ FY1999 Budget Resolution, which cut Medicaid by $12 billion over five years. Talent voted against the Democrats’ budget alternative, which would have protected Medicaid from cuts. [Vote 210, 6/5/98; Vote 209, 6/5/98; House Budget Committee, Democratic Caucus, 6/4/98]
9-10. 1997: Talent Voted Twice on the Budget Resolution to Cut $13.6 Billion from Medicaid. In 1997, Talent voted twice for the FY1998 Budget Resolution, which would cut $13.6 billion from Medicaid. [Vote 148, 5/21/97; Vote 166, 6/5/97; CQ, 6/5/97]
11. 1996: Talent Voted to Cut $72 Billion from Medicaid. In 1996, Talent voted for the FY1997 Budget Resolution which cut Medicare by $158 billion and Medicaid by $72 billion over six years. [Vote 236, 6/12/96; AP, 6/13/96]
12-16 1995: Talent Voted Five Times to Cut Medicaid by More Than $163 Billion – Largest Cuts in Medicaid History. In 1995, Talent voted lockstep with the Republican leadership to cut Medicaid five times during the budget reconciliation debate. Cut ranged from $163 billion to as much as $182 billion over seven years. [Vote 820, 11/20/95; Vote 812, 11/17/95; Vote 801, 11/15/95; Vote 743, 10/26/95; Vote 458, 6/29/95;
Clinton
Remarks, 12/6/95]
17. 1995: Talent Voted to Cut $187 Billion from Medicaid. In 1995, Talent voted for the GOP Budget Resolution to adopt a seven-year budget plan that would balance the budget by 2002 by cutting projected spending by $1.04 trillion of which $288 billion would come from Medicare and $187 billion from Medicaid. [Vote 345,
5/18/95
;
USA
Today,
5/19/95
]
18. 1995: Talent Voted to Cut $50 Billion from Medicaid Instead of Eliminating Tax Cuts. In 1995, Talent voted against a Gephardt amendment to the Republican Budget Resolution to provide for a balanced budget by 2002 by eliminating the tax cuts allowed by the resolution and subsequently decreasing the cuts to Medicare by $114 billion and Medicaid by $50 billion. [Vote 342, 5/18/95]
19.1994: Talent Voted to Cut $55 Billion from Medicare and Medicaid. In 1994, Talent voted for the Republican alternative to the FY1995 Budget Resolution, which cut funding for Medicare and Medicaid by $55 billion. [Vote 55,
3/11/94
; AP,
3/12/94
]
Missouri
Republicans Cut Almost $630 Million from Medicaid in 2005. In 2005, Missouri Republicans chose to cut nearly $630 million from Medicaid. The cuts reduced state expenditures by $231 million while expenditures financed by federal matching funds were cut about $380 million. [
Columbia
Missourian, 8/28/05; NPR, 5/11/05]
Missouri
Stood to Lose $700 Million Thanks to Medicaid Cuts. A study, based on analyses by economists at
St. Louis
University
, indicated that the loss of federal funds would have repercussions across the state and would lead to the loss of about 10,000 jobs and more than $700 million in economic activity in
Missouri
. [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 4/5/05]
“90,000 Missourians Kicked Off”
Missouri
’s Politicians Went After Medicaid “More Aggressively” Than Any Other State. National Public Radio featured
Missouri
’s Medicaid cuts in a national story that said: “No state has gone after Medicaid more aggressively than
Missouri
. Politicians there have cut 90,000 people from the program and have laid plans to end it entirely.” [National Public Radio, 5/11/05]
90,000 Missourians Booted Off Medicaid in 2005. In 2005, 90,000 low-income Missourians were kicked off Medicaid and lost their health coverage entirely. The Kansas City Star reported that an additional 33,511 had their benefits reduced or had to pick up a larger share of their health-care costs before coverage would kick in. Medicaid no longer paid for crutches, artificial limbs, wheelchairs, non-emergency ambulance service, hearing aids or hospice care for the dying. The Associated Press reported the cuts also eliminated a program for the working disabled, in which mentally disabled employees worked at sheltered workshops. [Associated Press, 12/31/05;
Kansas City
Star, 1/28/05]
Talent Refused to Even Comment on
Missouri
’s Devastating Medicaid Cuts. In July 2006, Talent refused to even comment on the 90,000 Missourians who had been kicked off of Medicaid in the past year. Talent spokesman Rich Chrismer said the senator would not comment on the state’s Medicaid cuts because it was a “state issue.” [
USA
Today, 7/13/06]
“Reduced health care for working families”
Thousands of Missourians Received Reduced Benefits. The Kansas City Star reported: “The Medicaid cuts would affect 122,557 low-income Missourians, including 89,046 who would lose health coverage entirely. An additional 33,511 would have their benefits reduced or have to pick up a larger share of their health-care costs before the state coverage would kick in.” [
Kansas City
Star, 1/28/05]
Last Round of Persons Cut Off Medicaid Were Single Working Mothers. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in July 2005: “At the end of August, the number of uninsured Missourians will increase by nearly 20 percent, as the last of about 90,000 people – most of them single working mothers and disabled adults – lose their Medicaid coverage.” The story called the Medicaid cuts “an assault on
Missouri
’s most vulnerable citizens.” [
St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, 7/24/05]
Most Missourians Cut Off Medicaid Were Working Mothers and Children. Most of the 90,000 Missourians kicked off Medicaid were working mothers and children. [
St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, 2/27/05]
Medicaid Cuts Could Force Many People to Give Up Their Jobs. Missouri Budget Project analysts said the cuts could force many people to give up their jobs so they could keep Medicaid coverage. [
Kansas City
Star, 1/28/05]
Medicaid Cuts Affected “Ticket to Work” Program. The recommended Medicaid eligibility reductions include the elimination of Medical Assistance for the Workers with Disabilities, known as “Ticket to Work,” which provides health care coverage for disabled people who are working. The reduction is expected to save $11.9 million in general revenue funds, $51.6 million total state and federal funds. More than 17,000 people would be affected. Of those, 9,529 would lose coverage immediately. [
Missouri
Lawyers Weekly, 5/9/05]
