(Courtesy Photo) U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano speaks at the Goddard House meeting Sept. 26.
S. HUNTINGTON AVE.—U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano met with seniors and their care providers to talk about possible Medicare and Medicaid funding cuts at Jamaica Plain’s Goddard House Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center on Sept. 26.
The “spirited” discussion covered “fears about impacting jobs, benefits and the quality of care,” according to a Goddard House press release.
“I agree with them…Their interests are at risk,” Capuano later told the Gazette, saying he has voted against any cuts to the federal medical insurance programs.
Capuano noted that the current federal budget deal will cut half a trillion dollars. Medicare and Medicaid patients are protected from those cuts, but providers are not, he said.
“You can have all the money in the world, [but] if the doctor won’t see you, or the doctor you want to see can’t see you, what difference does it make?” Capuano said.
Capuano, a Democrat, was gloomy about any budget compromise, saying that Republicans have vowed to refuse any revenue increases. Capuano, for his part, said he won’t vote for a budget that sacrifices Medicare and Medicaid.
“Compromise is one thing. Capitulation is another,” he said.
The Sept. 26 discussion at the 201 S. Huntington Ave. facility included members of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association and was hosted by Goddard House Executive Director Denise Riley Okun.