WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 -- The National Council of La Raza issued the following news release:

As the United States transitions to a "majority-minority" population over the next three decades, prominent health and income security groups say the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction and other members of Congress must take into account how changes to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will affect communities of color, a population that is growing and increasingly economically insecure.

Two new reports show the importance of programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to communities of color. Plan for a New Future: The Impact of Social Security Reform on Communities of Color, released by the Commission to Modernize Social Security, argues that changes to the program must consider the impact on workers and families of color who are more vulnerable to economic instability and far less likely to have generational wealth than White families. The importance of Medicaid to the Black and Latino communities, as well as the heavy burden of chronic disease borne by these groups, is documented in a detailed report, Medicaid: A Lifeline for Blacks and Latinos With Serious Health Care Needs, which was recently released by Families USA.

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"Social Security is the only source of income for two of every five African American retiree households age 65 and older," said Commission member Dr. Wilhelmina Leigh, Senior Research Associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. "So any proposals to guarantee system solvency should also guarantee the adequacy of benefits going forward."

Read the full story at Insurance News.

Major cuts to Medicaid would have a disproportionately harsh effect on African-Americans and Latinos, according to a new report released recently by a coalition of major health, civil rights and consumer groups.

The report, "Medicaid: A Lifeline for Blacks and Latinos with Serious Health Care Needs," reveals that making cuts to Medicaid fails to reduce costs, instead it shifts the burden to states, families, hospitals and the uninsured. In fact, in some cases, the report notes, cutting assistance for treatment can actually increase costs over the long run.

"As policymakers consider sharp cutbacks in the Medicaid program, this report brings an important potential consequence of their actions to the table – that cutting Medicaid will likely hit hardest at communities of color and, in particular, those who depend on the program to manage and treat their chronic illnesses," said Ralph B. Everett, president and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

This article was previously available at The Washington Informer.

Cuts to Medicaid would pose a specific and dangerous threat to millions of black and Latino Americans who depend on the program for regular treatment for such medical conditions as cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease, heart disease, and stroke. Without Medicaid, many of these seriously-ill Americans would no longer be able to fill essential prescriptions, keep up with key screenings, or see a doctor if their condition worsens or reoccurs.

The importance of Medicaid to the black and Latino communities, as well as the heavy burden of chronic disease borne by these groups, is documented in a detailed report, “Medicaid: A Lifeline for Blacks and Latinos with Serious Health Care Needs,” which was released today.

The report was released jointly by the American Diabetes Association, the American Lung Association, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the National Medical Association, the National Urban League Policy Institute, and Families USA.

Read the full story at WCTV.

WASHINGTON, DC—Major cuts to Medicaid would have a disproportionately harsh effect on black and Latino Americans, who are much more likely than others to depend on the program for regular treatment for chronic medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease, heart disease, and stroke, according to a report released today by a broad coalition of major health, civil rights and consumer groups.

The report, Medicaid: A Lifeline for Blacks and Latinos with Serious Health Care Needs, is the first ever to reveal details on the proportion of chronically ill minority Americans who benefit from Medicaid, the state and federally funded health insurance program for low income people.  It raises concerns about reductions in Medicaid funding resulting in many seriously-ill blacks and Latinos no longer being able to fill essential prescriptions, keep up with key screenings, or see a doctor if their condition worsens or reoccurs.

Report, commissioned by the Families USA, the Joint Center Health Policy Institute and other allies, describes the likely impact on African Americans and Latinos of cuts to Medicaid, the program on which millions of low-income Americans rely. It contains state-specific data for blacks and Latinos who rely on Medicaid and suffer from chronic medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease and heart disease.