Healthcare Funding Cutbacks May Increase US Unemployment Rate

Recently, SEIU United Long term Care Workers along with a group of partner institutions sent an open letter to the members of the Congressional Super Committee calling on Committee members to use their conscience as their compass when dealing with solutions to the national debt.

The main concern are the possible cuts to Medicaid and Medicare funding and how such cuts would jeopardize the health of our most at risk citizens while only increasing our nation’s unemployment rate.

The letter indicates that if Medicaid were cut by five percent, an additional 250,000 American jobs would be eliminated. If the plan were cut by 15 percent, the number of lost jobs added to present unemployment figures would be 748,000.

In closing, the letter asks the Super Committee to say NO to Medicare and Medicaid cuts and YES to offering quality care, job creation and real innovation.

The Super Committee is expected to make its decision November 23, 2011.