Congresswoman Matsui's Statement on 50 years of Medicaid

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 8, 2015

CONTACT: JULIE EDDY
(202) 225-7163

Congresswoman Matsui's Statement on 50 years of Medicaid

At a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui celebrated the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Medicaid program, and the progress that has been made for our health care system due to Medicaid and the ACA, especially in California.

A witness at the hearing, Vikki Wachino, Deputy Administrator at the Centers for Medicare andamp; Medicaid Services (CMS) and Director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services at CMS, expressed appreciation for the opportunity to implement the demonstration project based on Congresswoman Matsui's Excellence in Mental Health Act, which will make strides for community behavioral health care in the Medicaid program.

Congresswoman Matsui's statement is as follows:

"This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, essential programs for the security of our nation's seniors, people with disabilities, children, and families. The Affordable Care Act took vital steps toward reforming our health care system by increasing coverage and moving toward rewarding value instead of volume. We know the ACA made improvements in the private insurance market, but it also made improvements for public programs like Medicaid. Now is the time that we need to build upon those improvements, and keep the momentum going for our health care system and for the millions that rely on Medicaid as an important safety net.

"California is at the forefront of innovation in many areas, not the least of which is health care. As we know, Medicaid is a state-federal partnership and the ability for the state to implement pieces of the program as it sees fit within federal guidelines is essential to its success. Just two weeks ago, California was the first state to be approved for a five-year renewal of a waiver for Specialty Mental Health Services. This is a huge step forward for the nearly 1 in 6 Californian adults and 1 in 13 Californian children with mental health needs.

"I am also so pleased that California is also moving forward to apply for new community behavioral health funding in the Medicaid program, which will be available in the form of demonstration projects based on the Excellence in Mental Health Act that I coauthored with my colleague on this Committee, Rep. Leonard Lance.

"This demonstration will support California's efforts to integrate mental and physical health. This is so important, as we all know the head is connected to the body, and we need to treat it that way."

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