I'm writing in response to the May 4 letter mentioning Sen. Arlen Specter ("Reason to Be Scared"). It praised
the Post-Gazette's April 28 editorial that applauded the senator's "principled, independent stands" on issues, such as Medicaid
funding ("Medicaid Mess: Specter and Others Should Demand Full Funding," April 28).
Sen. Specter may have had principled stands before April 28, but that very night he voted the Republican
party line to cut $10 million in Medicaid funding for needy families, children and senior citizens. Three Republican senators,
not including Arlen Specter, had the courage to buck their party in this close (52-47) vote, which approved the federal budget
resolution.
When Pennsylvania's most vulnerable citizens needed them the most, Sens. Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum
let them down. When that cancer patient is told that she cannot receive any more chemotherapy because her visits are capped
and when the treatments are curtailed for mental health care, our citizens have Sens. Specter and Santorum to thank.
I am extremely disappointed with the senator's vote, and I hope that he will cushion the blow to his poor
and elderly constituents in Pennsylvania when the actual appropriations are made.
Theresa Chalich, R.N., Lincoln Place
Medicaid funds shortfall is life-threatening
President Bush decided that the states should not receive enough Medicaid funds in the coming fiscal year
to provide needed services for poor persons with disabilities, such as mental illness and mental retardation. His supporters
in Congress, including Sen. Rick Santorum, are pushing to implement the president's decision. On May 22, The Morning Call
quoted Pennsylvania's budget secretary as saying the state will have a shortfall of $495 million in Medicaid for 2005-06.
This amount nearly equals the $500 million the president's staff has proposed cutting for 2005-06.
Another May 22 article states that the lack of federal funds means most Medicaid recipients in Pennsylvania
in 2005-06 will be allowed only six prescriptions a month and limited visits to a physician or hospital stays. As a result,
many people with mental illness will not receive the medications and therapy they need. Many are likely to end up homeless
or in prison. This would be a human tragedy and threatening to their lives.
President Bush seeks to protect human lives by banning stem-cell research. To be consistent, he should also
protect human lives belonging to the poor who are severely disabled. The Morning Call should give more coverage to
the human consequences of the shortfall in federal Medicaid funds for the nation.
Robert McMickle, Allentown
Letter to the editor, The Morning Call, May 26, 2005
