The House Budget Committee approved a budget reconciliation package to maintain the 2 percent across-the-board Medicare cuts — already a part of the Budget Control scheduled to start January 2013 — but replace sequestered cuts to defense spending with targeted reductions in other areas, according to an AHA News Now report.
The targeted cuts include slashing some federal healthcare programs for children, which has caused a stir among several groups advocating for more widespread healthcare, such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. According to The Hill, the bishops have said the Republican budget plan fails a "basic moral test."
House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is Catholic and defends cuts to programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — which provides food to an estimated 20 million children — and limits eligibility for the Child Tax Credit as ways to help people get out of the poverty cycle.
"The preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenants of Catholic social teaching, means: Don't keep people poor. Don't make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life," Rep. Ryan recently said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network.
The House is expected to pass the bill this week, but the Democrat-controlled Senate will likely not take it up.
Massachusetts Senate Unveils Healthcare Payment Bill
California Bill Would Restrict Pay of Hospital District Executives
The targeted cuts include slashing some federal healthcare programs for children, which has caused a stir among several groups advocating for more widespread healthcare, such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. According to The Hill, the bishops have said the Republican budget plan fails a "basic moral test."
House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is Catholic and defends cuts to programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — which provides food to an estimated 20 million children — and limits eligibility for the Child Tax Credit as ways to help people get out of the poverty cycle.
"The preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenants of Catholic social teaching, means: Don't keep people poor. Don't make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life," Rep. Ryan recently said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network.
The House is expected to pass the bill this week, but the Democrat-controlled Senate will likely not take it up.
More Articles on Healthcare Legislation:
AHA, CMS Find Common Ground at Annual MeetingMassachusetts Senate Unveils Healthcare Payment Bill
California Bill Would Restrict Pay of Hospital District Executives