Medicaid Cuts, Not Gays, Hurt Blacks

By Ron WaltersNNPA Columnist I wonder how all of those Blacks who voted for George Bush because he was against gay marriage would justify that action when one of his first acts after the election was make proposals for deep cuts in the Medicaid program that have now been ratified by the House and Senate. Republicans in both Houses passed a $2.6 trillion budget resolution that will be a guide to appropriations legislation, on a party-line vote, that reduces funding for Medicaid by $10 billion over four years, while approving $106 billions of tax cuts over a five-year period. Moreover, the total package of domestic program cuts amounts to $35 billion, including $6.6 billion in federal old age pensions. How is a morality consistent with the channeling of money to fund health services the poor and elderly into the pockets of the rich? The Medicaid programs uniquely service the health needs of the poor and they are being cut while the Defense budget will get a 4.1 percent increase largely because of the increase in spending on weapons systems, Homeland Security. In fact, the amount for Defense and international programs in slated to receive $200 billion increase. At the same time, the spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing American tax payers hundreds of billions ($81 billion in the recent request) that is not even included in the official budget. As a result, the earnings of defense contractors are booming. For example, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman Corporations recently reported sharp increases in first-quarter earnings when Bush announced that he backed a 4 percent increase in defense spending. Raytheon in particular, that developed the Patriot, Haw and Tomahawk missiles, reported a 30 percent increase in profit in the last quarter. Medicaid (and Medicare) spending are a problem because of the exploding cost of health care and the proposed cuts in the Medicaid budget over the next few years represents 1.1 percent of the total budget. But cuts in billions of dollars in health services for poor people, while giving trillions of dollars back to the rich in tax money does not suggest that health care a major priority or that America cannot afford the cost. Governors in many states are chafing at the cost of Medicaid because it is consuming up to 25 percent of their budgets, largely because they are not being financially supported to the extent necessary by the federal government. So they are planning their own reductions and changes that may result in more efficient delivery of health care services, especially in the area of pharmaceutical costs and long-term care. These cuts hit home at the local level in places such as Kansas City, Mo. where on April 26, Gov. Matt Blunt signed a measure that eliminated thousands of people from the Medicaid program. He did so, theoretically on the basis that it would free up more money for schools; however, only two schools in Kansas City’s Black community and none in St. Louis would benefit. On the other hand, of the 27,000 people who would loose their health care, the NAACP reported that thousands would be disproportionately Black. The total impact of the cuts would effect approximately 100,000 of the poor, elderly and disabled who would have to decide whether to pay for ballooning gas prices that affects their heating and transportation, food or health care. This is a cruel set of options given to them, courtesy of the way in which Federal, state and local taxes are being used politically. In the meantime, I have seen Catholic Charities speaking out about the way in which George Bush and his colleagues at the state level are shaping these cruel choices for American citizens. The new pope has not yet found his voice on this, but did intervene to stop John Kerry from receiving communion. He is and he should be supported by voices of all those who voted by Bush and his governors in the last election. This especially includes some Black pastors whose followers are disproportionately poor, elderly or disabled and who placed gay marriage over the human needs of their parishioners. But then, most of them probably are feeling a little guilty and somewhat betrayed right about now. Ron Walters is the Distinguished Leadership Scholar, director of the African American Leadership Institute in the Academy of Leadership and professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland-College Park.