Seniors and Medicaid
Medicaid is not only a critical source of health care for pregnant women and infants, children and people with disabilities, it is a lifeline for seniors.
With the retirement of the baby boom generation, 10,000 Americans turn 65 years old every day, and up to 70% of them will need long-term care services at some point in their lives.
Medicaid is the primary source of long-term care services in the nation. It pays for about 40% of all services provided at home and in the community and 70% of all nursing home costs.
Because Medicaid is a federal-state partnership, the federal government is able to set basic quality standards for those services, and I am working hard to make sure that we provide seniors with a full range of safe and affordable long-term care options. For example, I authored a provision to require criminal background checks for long-term care workers, which was incorporated into law as part of Obamacare.
Medicaid also helps 6 million low-income– "dual eligibles" who receive benefits from both Medicare and Medicaid. Medicaid helps low-income seniors pay their Medicare premium and out-of-pocket costs and also can provide additional services – like hearing aids and dental care – that are not covered under Medicare.
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One year ago this week, the world saw the worst perpetration of violence inflicted on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The terrorist organization Hamas took the lives of over 1,200 people in Israel, injured over 3,000 more, and captured over 200 people – including many American citizens.
We got some great news last week! Thanks to the hard work of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, three Americans were released from wrongful detention in Russia. Evan Gershkovich, Marine Veteran Paul Whelan, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva are now back in the United States, returning home after unimaginable suffering. The Biden-Harris administration has now brought home over 70 Americans who were held in captivity. I’m grateful for their commitment and dedication to bringing Americans home.
Last week, I joined nearly all Democrats in voting against passage of the shortsighted and harmful National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025. The original NDAA that passed out of committee 57-1 included numerous provisions that would make life better for service members and their families, including a 19.5% pay raise for junior enlisted troops, a 4.5% increase for all other service members, increased investments in childcare, and a restoration of the full Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH).
During his State of the Union address last Thursday, President Joe Biden emphasized that America is a story of progress, possibilities, and resilience. He delivered a strong speech that detailed how far we have come under his leadership, the hurdles we have cleared, and his bold, optimistic vision for the future.
To finish out the legislative year in Washington, the House of Representatives voted on the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill authorizes a staggering $886 billion in new spending for the Department of Defense. Our greatest security threats have no military solutions, and it is time our budget reflected that. Therefore, I could not, in good faith, support its final passage.
An economic disaster has been averted thanks to President Biden and his negotiating team, who did the best they could in the midst of a hostage situation. Thanks to the president’s leadership, the Republicans were unable to make cuts to crucial programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. President Biden was able to protect his landmark pieces of legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, including the bill's historic climate provisions, the Infrastructure Law, and the Chips and Science Act.
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), a Chief Deputy Whip, Senior Budget Committee Member, and Executive Board Member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, released the following statement after voting against H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023: