Just wait till until you read the figures from Bush's budget request. According to him, the private health care industry doesn't suck enough money and life out of us, so George wants to pull more money out of the budget for health care in America. Despite proposing the highest budget ever at $3.1 trillion (with a T) dollars, the CDC, Medicare and Medicaid are looking at cuts in the billions of dollars, even though they are already seriously underfunded.
From Reuters:
Bush's $3.1 trillion spending plan proposes a 7 percent cut in funds for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as less money for Medicare and Medicaid -- the joint federal-state health insurance programs for the poor and elderly.
The budget for the fiscal year starting October 1, 2009 would reduce spending on Medicare by $12.8 billion and lower federal funds for Medicaid by $18.2 billion over five years.
The National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration would receive more funds, but critics said the increases were too small to counteract rising costs.
And on top of that, even some private companies are concerned because many drug treatments come from government-funded research. A breeding farm of sorts provided by Uncle Sam is used by the for-profits to lure these successful scientists out to the private sector.
More importantly, Americans across the board will suffer from these cuts, something Congress MUST stand up against and prevent, for the good of the people. This budget fight will show who's side they're on.
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