WASHINGTON — In response to President Joe Biden’s new budget proposal, Health Care for America Now (HCAN) Executive Director Margarida Jorge released the following statement:
“President Biden’s budget offers a clear alternative to the cuts and chaos that Congressional Republicans are proposing. Rather than gutting popular health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare, President Biden is offering common sense solutions that protect and preserve our earned benefits, lower health care and household costs, and ensure the wealthiest individuals finally pay their fair share of taxes.
“Lowering the cost of health care, education, housing and other basics is essential to our country’s recovery as we continue to face high inflation, rising prices and corporate price-gouging on everything from food to prescription medicine. With Republicans threatening to slash spending on critical health care programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, there couldn’t be a better time to curb corporate profiteering and save taxpayers billions that can be reinvested in shoring up our most important health care programs.
“Biden’s plan would extend Medicare’s solvency for over two decades, ensuring that future generations of aging Americans can look forward to having health care they can count on. It will also protect Social Security, lower drug prices for millions more people and reduce the federal deficit without raising taxes on people who make less than $400,000. His budget protects the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid for tens of millions who need coverage, for hospitals and mental health centers that depend on Medicaid to stay open and for small businesses who can’t get group coverage.
“Biden’s budget recognizes that for too long, prescription drug corporations and insurance companies have controlled access to health care, getting huge tax breaks and inflating profits while patients incur debt and go without prescriptions they can’t afford. As Republicans try to repeal minimum taxes on billionaire corporations and push to make the Trump tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy permanent, Biden’s budget makes the case for implementing higher taxes on millionaires and billionaires to support an economy that works for everyone. Republicans should abandon their plans to cut health care for working Americans and give tax breaks to the rich and instead support the President’s budget.”
