Congress' devastating budget bill will cause 'irreparable harm for generations to come'
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is outraged that Congress has approved a budget reconciliation bill that will give tax breaks to the rich but makes massive budget cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and other basic needs programs that help the most vulnerable in our communities afford basic health care, put healthy food on the table, and keep up with the rising cost of rent, transportation, and other necessities.
This destructive legislation will also make it more difficult for future students to choose the social work profession and for current social workers to pay off their student loans.
“The bill headed to the President’s desk will cause irreparable harm for generations to come and every community will feel its impact,” said NASW CEO Anthony Estreet PhD, MBA, LCSW-C. “At a time when families are struggling to put food on the table, grappling with health care costs, dealing with high costs of college and dwindling options for student loan repayment, and other financial hardships in an increasingly volatile economy, Congress worked overtime to ram their bill through an expedited process that will harm individuals, families, and communities.”
States will not be able to make up for the cuts to Medicaid, and officials from NASW state chapters warn that millions of Americans could see their health care coverage and services revoked or severely curtailed. The success behind Medicaid is the federal-state cost sharing and the pooling of national resources to support the states that have need.
“The proposed cuts to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will devastate families, veterans, and small businesses in South Dakota and Nebraska,” said Jessyca Vandercoy, LICSW, executive director of the NASW South Dakota and Nebraska Chapters. “More than 465,000 Nebraskans and 117,000 South Dakotans rely on these programs for their health and stability. In Nebraska, 26 percent of small business owners and 20 percent of Armed Forces veterans depend on Medicaid or CHIP to access care and over 60 percent of South Dakota’s Medicaid enrollees live in rural communities. These cuts don’t just reallocate a budget, they take care from kids, parents, veterans, and the small business owners.”
The cuts and programmatic changes to Medicaid will not just hurt families who rely on the program for care but everyone.
“There are four rural Maine hospitals in danger of closing due to severe cuts in Medicaid funding. If any of these hospitals close, it will not matter if you are on Medicaid or on private insurance, you will not have access to health care. This is unconscionable,” said Lynn Currier, LICSW, interim executive director of the NASW Maine Chapter.
Additionally, current and future student borrowers will see differences to the programs that help students choose the noble profession of social work.
In addition to navigating the harm caused by the bill and supporting clients who will lose care, access to food assistance, and more, social workers will also have to manage the loss of protections and increased monthly payments due to the elimination of student loan income-driven repayment programs including the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which has unique benefits that lower payments and is the current repayment home for many borrowers.
“Prospective social workers will have more barriers to joining the profession due to the elimination of the Grad PLUS loans, lifetime caps on federal student borrowing, and making programs ineligible for federal student loans if graduates have low earning potential—regardless of the importance graduates of those programs play in community including social workers, teachers, and other members of helping professions,” said NASW Public Policy Associate Rachel Boyer, MSW, LMSW.
NASW is grateful for the thousands of social workers who joined our call to contact their lawmakers to urge them not to pass this bill and we now encourage all social workers to take this fight to their states. Demand state leaders do what Congress could not and protect the health and well-being of Americans. These state-led responses will dictate any future changes to these programs and only by working together will we be able to effect change.
NASW will continue pushing federal lawmakers to invest in communities and replace these cuts with programs that provide Americans with basic needs and the resources they need to thrive.
For additional comment or questions please contact NASW Communications Director Greg Wright gwright.nasw@socialworkers.org