Saturday, July 30, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

POOR AND ELDERLY: Medicaid recipients oppose cuts

State faces $74 million loss in spending

Southern Nevadans who receive Medicaid benefits made a public appeal Friday, urging Nevada's congressional delegation to oppose the $10 billion in proposed budget cuts for the program.

Reducing program funding at the federal level could translate to more than $74 million in cuts to the state's Medicaid program.

Their public appeal at University Medical Center coincided with the Medicaid program's 40th birthday.

"At a time when Nevada's senior population is exploding, these cuts will dramatically impact our state budget and more importantly, our citizens who need assistance," said Barry Gold, advocacy director for the AARP Nevada.

The cuts are being proposed as a way to reduce federal budget deficits. The issue is in the Senate Finance Committee.

Clark County Manager Thom Reilly said cuts to Medicaid and Medicare benefits, which help the elderly, will strain the county, which offers stopgap measures for people who can't afford medical care and who don't qualify for the federal programs.

"We couldn't survive without Medicaid," Reilly said. "It's essential."

Reilly said about 200,000 Nevadans are Medicaid recipients.

Several parents who rely on the state and federally funded medical insurance benefit said their children would suffer or even die without it. Medicaid covers medical costs for low-income families, the elderly and disabled who qualify.

Toni Barnes said her 11-year-old son, Dillon, who was born with cerebral palsy and cortical blindness, probably would have been put up for adoption or institutionalized had it not been for Medicaid benefits.

"Without Medicaid, I would have had to give up my son," she said.

Barnes said her son's medication costs $800 a month, and his food supplements cost between $300 and $400 a month.

"The costs of taking care of him are double what I bring home in a month," she said, adding that she works full-time and part-time jobs.

Edna Jager said Medicaid benefits enabled her to stay home and recover after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988, a time when she was single-handedly raising a teen-age son and newborn baby.

Jager said she is well enough now "to again be a productive part of society." Without the treatment she received under Medicaid, Jager said, her condition probably would have worsened, and "I might not be here today."

The group urged Congress to modernize Medicaid and Medicare without weakening it.

"Congress can take money-saving actions that do not harm Medicaid recipients," said Paul Brown, an organizer of Nevadans Against Cuts and Caps.

"They can negotiate better prices on prescription drugs and reduce duplication of services. That way, we can ensure that Medicaid will be strong and effective for another 40 years."