AAMC Opposes Spending Caps
June 11, 2004 - In a June 3 letter
(PDF, 1 page - 35KB) to all members of the House of Representatives,
AAMC President Jordan Cohen, M.D., expressed opposition to legislation
to cap discretionary spending and to limit Congress's ability to
expand entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The letter
was sent in anticipation of the House considering the "Spending
Control Act of 2004" (H.R.
3973) during the week of June 7. However, since all congressional
activity for the week has been canceled for the events commemorating
Ronald Reagan, the schedule for considering the bill is uncertain.
The letter notes that as reported out by the House Budget Committee,
H.R. 3973 contains two provisions "detrimental to our nation's
health care system." First, the bill would establish so-called
"pay as you go" rules that would bar Congress from making
improvements in entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid,
and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) unless
they are accompanied by cuts in other entitlements.
Second, the bill would establish 5-year caps on discretionary spending
"set at levels that will force deep cuts in many domestic programs,
including the National Institutes of Health and other Public Health
Service agencies and the Veterans Health Administration." The
letter warns, "These cuts will seriously jeopardize programs
that support biomedical, behavioral and health services research;
carry out disease prevention and health promotion; and provide health
care services for vulnerable and medically underserved populations."
The letter also cautioned against an amendment that reportedly
may be added to establish spending caps on entitlement programs.
If these caps are similar to ones proposed in two other budget process
bills introduced earlier this year (H.R
3800 and H.R.
3925), they would mandate approximately $1.8 trillion in entitlement
cuts over the next 10 years. If these cuts were applied proportionately
across all entitlement programs, Medicare would be cut by $797 billion
and Medicaid by $392 billion over the next decade. The letter notes
these cuts "would have a devastating impact on the nation's
ability to care for the elderly at a time when the baby boomer generation
is reaching retirement age... [and] would have disastrous implications
for the nation's health care safety net."
Recognizing the need to "take steps to address the spiraling
federal deficit," the letter asks Congress to "do so in
a manner that imposes the same discipline on all parts of the budget,
including revenues, rather than singling out domestic programs for
cuts that would cause great harm to the people they are intended
to serve."
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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