WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2011) — The following statement is being released by Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, president and chief executive office of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA):

While it is important to control federal spending and the deficit, cuts proposed by the House budget resolution would damage the nation's health care system by decimating Medicaid, Medicare and recent coverage gains made possible by the Affordable Care Act. Rather than a 'path to prosperity,' the budget resolution is a road map to ruin for these vital safety net programs and the future health of our nation.

Deficit reduction must not come at the expense of the most vulnerable individuals and families. The draconian cuts proposed in the budget resolution would simply shift the cost burden onto individual beneficiaries, health care providers and state governments. While this may temporarily reduce the federal deficit, the long-term effects of this strategy will be to erode the safety net and jeopardize the health and economic security of millions of Americans.

Unaffordable tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans were very recently extended, and the new budget resolution calls for even further tax breaks for those least affected by the recession. Enacting new tax breaks while cutting programs that help low- and middle-income people would be cruel and counter-productive.

CHA supports common-sense, compassionate solutions to the budget challenges facing our nation. We believe that lawmakers exercising true leadership can reach a reasonable agreement to address deficits and spending without harming the most vulnerable.

The Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), founded in 1915, supports the Catholic health ministry's commitment to improve the health status of communities and create quality and compassionate health care that works for everyone. The Catholic health ministry is the nation's largest group of not-for-profit health systems and facilities that, along with their sponsoring organizations, employ more than 750,000 women and men who deliver services combining advanced technology with the Catholic caring tradition.