Taking Action: Fighting Medicaid Cuts
Dr. Mehdi Salemi at NYC rally.
"Funding is important for everyone, patients and doctors." --Dr. Mehdi Salemi, Kingsbrook Hospital, Brooklyn, NY
Medicaid funding is vital to hospital operating budgets, and a large percentage of the funds go not just for patient care, but for day-to-day functions of hospitals. CIR members have worked with hospital administrations to keep hospitals and clinics open.
On April 7th, 2005, members from hospitals in New York City joined thousands of other union members, including hospital and home care workers, to show their gratitude to state legislators for soundly rejecting most of the health care cuts requested by Governor George Pataki in his budget. “It’s bad enough not having enough money in my own hospital as it is now,” said member Glen Sorrentino, a PGY 3 in Internal Medicine at Brooklyn Hospital. “Unfortunately, you need money for good care. There’s only so much people can achieve by caring alone. The money has to be there. We could use more funding, not less.” The state legislators who protected Medicaid Funds did so because of pressure from groups like CIR and other unions.
How Much Are Medicaid Cuts Costing Your State?
You can find out how much Medicaid funding is slated to be cut from your state by checking www.PutFamiliesFirst.org.
Put Families First is a joint effort to combat Medicaid cuts at the state and federal levels. The coalition is made up of unions, community groups, local government agencies, disability, and faith based organizations.