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On Monday, President Bush submitted his proposed 2009 budget to Congress. If enacted, this plan would have a devastating effect on Oregon’s health care system, and the people of our state. The bottom line is that the budget eliminates essential health care services for thousands of Oregonians; we believe these funding priorities outlined in the budget are misguided.
The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) strongly rejects the budget cuts to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This puts quality health care further out of reach for those in our communities that are most vulnerable—the poor, the sick, the elderly, and our children.
If this budget is adopted as written, Oregon can expect to lose more than $658 million in federal funding in the Medicare and Medicaid programs over the next five years. At a time when the entire nation is involved in discussions about expanding health care to the uninsured and increasing affordability of those with insurance, this budget sends the wrong message.
How does the Bush administration expect this shortfall to be recovered? The only solution is to expect our state’s hospitals and health care providers to carry the burden with increased costs, and health care that is even further out of reach for our most vulnerable Oregonians. As a state, we must be very clear that change needs to happen. We need to stop the cycle of increasing medical costs and refocus on quality patient care at affordable rates. This is our responsibility, this is the right thing to do and our federal budget needs to reflect on these priorities.
With the American Hospital Association (AHA) we urge Congress to reject this budget and to put Oregon’s patients first. OAHHS will be sharing the statewide budget impacts of the president's budget proposal with our entire Congressional Delegation, urging their strong opposition. At the same time, we will be informing Governor Kulongoski and his staff, as well as our state Legislative leadership to ensure their full understanding of these devastating impacts statewide, and at the local level. We anticipate that our political leaders will see the proposed budget as anathema to the work our state is currently engaged in to develop comprehensive health care reform for all Oregonians.
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