Thank you for reading another edition of my e-newsletter, the Carson Courier. For additional information on these and other topics, please visit my website at http://www.carson.house.gov.

In this week’s Carson Courier:

• Indiana Medicaid Plan is Struck Down
• Local Medicare Forum Event for Seniors

Indiana Medicaid Plan is Struck Down

This week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rejected Indiana’s new statute that bans Medicaid recipients from seeking services at Planned Parenthood. In a letter to Governor Daniels, HHS stated the new legislation violates federal Medicaid laws because states cannot dictate which providers can accept Medicaid patients. This violation could cause our state to lose millions of dollars in federal funding for Medicaid recipients.

Planned Parenthood has a longstanding history in our community of providing quality health care services to low income families, and it is my hope that the Governor takes heed of the warning from HHS and allows patients to continue receiving services from this reputable institution.

Local Medicare Forum Event for Seniors

Next week, I will be meeting with seniors in Pike Township to discuss the impact the 2012 House Republican budget will have on Medicare. Under the guise of debt reduction, the Republican's plan increases prescription drug costs for millions of seniors while also ending free preventive services provided under the Affordable Care Act. In addition, the Republican budget ends Medicare as we know it for an unproven voucher system administered by the private health insurance industry. Recent reports have estimated that the a typical senior would need to spend $20,000 to get the equivalent health care from Medicare, leaving seniors to pay at least double in new out-of-pocket expenses.  We must address our debt, but I won't support making seniors sacrifice more so Republicans can preserve tax breaks for millionaires and oil companies.

I encourage you to attend our panel discussion on:

Wednesday, June 8

10:00-11:00 a.m.

Olivet Missionary Baptist Church

4141 N High School Road

Thank you for reading the Carson Courier.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts and concerns. For more information, please visit my website at http://www.carson.house.gov, my Congressional Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CongressmanAndreCarson and follow me on Twitter@RepAndreCarson. I value your views and your input which help me to better represent the people of Indiana’s 7^th District in Congress.