Date: Tue, 17 Oct 1995 23:07:14 -0400 From: Mary Ann Murphy Subject: Medicaid - AIDS care services Following is this month's sample letter on HIV/ AIDS issue. It is to be sent to your Congress Member. Please let us know if you send a letter fax or call - we'd like to know if our effort is working. October 17, 1995 The Hon. The U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Representative I am writing to express my strong opposition to Congressional proposals that would eliminate the entitlement status of Medicaid and convert the program into a block grant. Under current Congressional proposals, states would lose an average 30 percent of their federal Medicaid funds by 2002, causing an estimated eight million beneficiaries to lose health care coverage. Such cuts would be devastating to people with AIDS. Medicaid provides over six times more funding for AIDS care than the Ryan White CARE Act, the next largest single source of AIDS funding. Federal block grants are not a viable means of reforming the Medicaid program. Block granting Medicaid will shift the burden of providing health care to the states while reducing the level of funds available to states to run the program. Most states already face difficulty in funding their portion of Medicaid at existing levels and further burdens on them will lead to even further funding shortfalls. Medicaid provides a safety net for people living with AIDS that should not be undermined. In addition, the elimination of federal Medicaid standards will result in an unpredictable patchwork system of AIDS care services; often leading to expensive emergency room care and a lower quality of life for those living with the disease. The Medicaid system can be examined in an effort to enact positive reforms, but it should not be dismantled as the Congressional leadership's proposals would do. I am counting on you to protect this essential program for the people who need it most. Please take a strong stand against Medicaid block grants. Very truly yours,