No one denies that cuts have to be made somewhere if we’re to get the government back into fiscal shape. But balancing the budget should never be done at the expense of our most vulnerable citizens, which is why cuts to Medicaid funding suggested in President Bush’s fiscal year 2006 budget are misguided and dangerous.

The changes proposed to Medicaid in the president’s budget take a variety of forms, but overall, they would result in $60 billion in cuts, which could force significant restructuring of Medicaid as a whole.

The changes might even result in a cap on Medicaid funds, which would mean that not all people who should be covered by the program would get the care they need.

That’s $60 billion taken away from women, men and children who need it most, and it’s a backup on which many rely. In 2003, Medicaid helped provide health care for an estimated 51 million people — one in six Americans.ÿ

We must stand firm when it comes to Medicaid: no caps on spending and no cuts in funding. Medicaid helps keep Americans healthy, especially when it comes to reproductive health. Publicly funded family planning services — more than half of them funded through Medicaid — prevent 1.3 million unintended pregnancies and more than 600,000 abortions each year.

Planned Parenthood already does more than any other organization to prevent unintended pregnancy. But Medicaid funding is essential to our ability to do so. Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide provide reproductive health care services to desperately needy and underserved populations.ÿ

In 2004, 54 percent of the patients seen at Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa clinics were at or below the federal poverty level. At our centers, Medicaid helps them receive birth control supplies, annual exams, breast exams and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Without Medicaid and the services provided by Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa, many of our poorest neighbors would have no hope of accessing even the most basic health care.

Jill June

President and CEO

Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa