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DeLauro Denounces Trump’s Changes to Medicaid

January 11, 2018

WASHINGTON, DC (January 11, 2018) Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement in response to President Trump's decision to allow states to add work requirements for Medicaid recipients.

"President Trump's latest action continues his campaign to shame and stigmatize our most vulnerable citizens. Work requirements do nothing to create jobs or raise wages for hard-working Americans. Instead, they put at risk the essential health care benefits millions of children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities have access to every day. In fact, patients receiving life-saving therapies could have their access to those services removed if they do not work enough hours to remain eligible for Medicaid."

"Requiring Medicaid recipients to work will do nothing to tackle poverty—it will only serve to cut off a lifeline for millions of Americans who depend on this program each year. We must do everything we can to ensure that we are lifting people out of poverty, not pushing them deeper into it. I fear that President Trump's actions today will do just that. Our social safety net programs are a reflection of our nation's values, and we cannot allow them to be unraveled. President Trump must immediately end his cruel assault on our nation's most vulnerable citizens."