Horsford: GOP Budget Targeting Medicaid Harms Most Vulnerable Among Us

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) reacted today as House Republicans passed a budget proposal on a party line vote that targets Medicaid funds to cover $4.5 trillion in corporate tax giveaways.

“811,000 Nevadans, and countless Americans across the country, are in danger of losing their health coverage right now as Congressional Republicans pushed through their ‘Screw America’ budget today,” Rep. Horsford said. “This was a blatant effort to feed corporate greed at the expense of those most in need – the choice was between Learjets and yachts for the few, or basic medical services for pregnant women, newborn babies, disabled people, and senior citizens.”

Nevada, which was the first state with a Republican governor at the time to expand Medicaid in a bipartisan way, stands to be hit harder than all but two states. If the Republican budget becomes law, the Silver State will have to either add $6.7 billion to the state budget, or kick hundreds of thousands of people off their coverage.

“Nevada Democrats and Republicans worked together to expand Medicaid in 2010, and our bipartisanship paid off – Nevada’s uninsured rate dropped by a third, and more than a half million uninsured children were covered,” Rep. Horsford continued. “That’s what true leadership looks like – today’s vote was highway robbery, and I will work with Congressional Democrats and decent people across the country to prevent it from becoming law.”