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.
More on Seniors and Medicaid
EVANSTON – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Co-Chair of the House Democrats Task Force on Aging and Families, blasted President Trump for commuting the sentence of Philip Esformes who was convicted for what the Department of Justice called "the largest single health care bribery and kickback scheme in American history":
According to a November 2019 Gallup poll, approximately 58 million Americans were unable to pay for prescribed medicine in the last 12 months. And, at least 34 million people know of at least one friend or family member in the last five years who died after not receiving medical treatment, due to their inability to pay for it. Thousands of seniors die each year prematurely because they cannot afford their medications, with that number projected to hit 112,000 by 2030. Prescription drug prices are literally killing Americans.
WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Senior Chief Deputy Whip, Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and Co-Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Aging and Families, released this statement after President Trump said he would mail seniors a one-time $200 prescription drug discount card, raiding the Medicare Trust Fund after failing to take any action to actually lower prescription drug prices:
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, released a statement highlighting significant victories for Illinois' 9th Congressional District and other communities across America in H.R. 7617, the second fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, that just passed the House.
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee and Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), a Member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, introduced the Lower Drug Costs for Seniors During COVID-19 Act. This legislation allows Medicare Part D beneficiaries electing to receive 90-day prescription refills to spread their co-pays over the same 90-day period.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and Congressman Peter King (R-NY) introduced the bipartisan Advancing Connectivity during the Coronavirus to Ensure Support for Seniors (ACCESS) Act. Many older Americans and individuals with disabilities rely on nursing homes to survive, and the COVID-19 pandemic has severely isolated nursing home residents from their family members and health care providers who often are essential caregivers and advocates.
WASHINGTON, DC - On Monday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released guidance that contradicts provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that explicitly gives the Department of the Treasury authority to provide direct assistance to Social Security beneficiaries, Supplemental Security Income recipients, and Veterans Administration pension holders who do not file taxes.
EVANSTON, IL – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced today that language from her legislation, H.R. 2150, the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2019, was signed into law on Friday, March 27, 2020 as part of H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. The legislation was originally introduced on April 9, 2019, with original cosponsors Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Susan Wild (D-PA), and David Joyce (R-OH).
Washington, D.C.- Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), along with CPC Health Task Force Chair Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), released the following statement today after guidance was issued by the Trump administration to state Medicaid directors encouraging them to implement controversial work requirements for Medicaid.
The American people deserve to know the potential fallout of the fiscal cliff battle
- Roll Call | By Rep. Jan Schakowsky
- Dec. 3, 2012, 7:19 p.m.
There has been a lot of talk lately about how to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. Now it's time to get specific – not just about numbers but about how the proposals would affect real people.