A group of U.S. Senate Democrats held a press conference Wednesday, vowing to kill a proposal from U.S. House Republicans to turn Medicaid into a block grant.
U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia said the GOP plan to cap federal spending would leave low-income children and families vulnerable and would “just shift [costs] right on the counties,” according to CQ.com.
Several representatives of the National Association of Counties joined the Democrats at the news conference.
“It’s a heartless town, and this is a heartless budget,” Rockefeller said of the budget plan written by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
The Ryan plan passed with support from all four Kansans in the U.S. House.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has promised to bring the measure to a vote in the Senate where it is almost certain to die.
Democrats said the proposal threatens to change the very nature of Medicaid, which is now an entitlement to certain low-income groups, including seniors, the poor and the disabled. Republicans say their plan is a responsible way of controlling federal spending while giving governors the flexibility they need to provide efficient health care in their states.
Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas is among the nation’s GOP governors who have been pushing for Medicaid block grants.