,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cccj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,august #a1    
#bjah ,ms4 ,hirono 7for herself1 ,mr4   
,reed1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,nelson1 ,ms4  
,hassan1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,ms4 ,harris1  
,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mrs4       
,mc,caskill1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,ms4        
,duckworth1 and ,mr4 ,carper7 introduced
 the following bill2 which was read     
twice and referred to the ,committee on 
the ,budget  ,a ,,bill  ,to protect the 
,medicare and ,medicaid programs with   
respect to certain changes in           
reconciliation legislation4  #a4 ,short 
title  ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,medicare and ,medicaid ,protection ,act
 of #bjah4  #b4 ,findings ,congress     
finds the following3 7#a7 ,congress     
enacted ,medicare in #aife to address   
concerns that about half of the seniors 
in the ,united ,states lacked health    
insurance4 ,under ,medicare1 the        
uninsured rate for seniors has dropped  
to just #b percent and the life         

expectancy at age #fe has increased by  
#ae percent4  7#b7 ,today1 ,medicare    
provides affordable health coverage to  
approximately #a out of #f individuals  
in the ,united ,states 7about           
#eh1jjj1jjj in #bjag71 mainly people age
 #fe and older and other adults with    
permanent disabilities4  7#c7 ,congress 
enacted ,medicaid to provide medical    
assistance to eligible individuals whose
 income and resources are insufficient  
to meet the costs of necessary medical  
services4  7#d7 ,approximately          
#fg1jjj1jjj children1 seniors1          
individuals with disabilities1 pregnant 
women1 and low-income adults in the     
,united ,states rely on ,medicaid for   
affordable health care4  7#e7           
,individuals in the ,united ,states who 
are uninsured are nearly twice as likely
 to live in poverty as those who have   
health insurance1 making ,medicare and  
,medicaid important tools for empowering
 ,americans to economic success4  #c4   
,point of order against privatizing     

medicare1 limiting ,federal funding for 
medicaid1 or decreasing benefits in     
medicare or medicaid in reconciliation  
legislation ,section #caj of the        
,congressional ,budget ,act of #aigd 7#b
 ,u4,s4,c4 #fda7 is amended by adding at
 the end the following3  7h7 ,point of  
order prohibiting certain changes to the
 ,medicare and ,medicaid programs in    
,reconciliation ,legislation  7#a7 ,in  
general ,it shall not be in order in the
 ,senate to consider any reconciliation 
bill or reconciliation resolution       
reported pursuant to a concurrent       
resolution on the budget agreed to under
 section #cja or #cjd1 or a joint       
resolution pursuant to section #beh;,c  
of the ,balanced ,budget and ,emergency 
,deficit ,control ,act of #aihe1 or any 
amendment thereto or conference report  
thereon1 that would--  7,a7 increase the
 eligibility age under the ,medicare    
program under title ,,xviii of the      
,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#acie et seq472  7,b7 privatize or turn 

the ,medicare program into a voucher    
system2  7,c7 block grant the ,medicaid 
program under title ,,xix of the ,social
 ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acif et 
seq471 impose per capita spending caps  
on ,state plans under such title1 or    
decrease coverage under such program    
from current levels2 or  7,d7 reduce or 
eliminate the ability of ,states to     
provide comprehensive and affordable    
health coverage through medical         
assistance to low-income1 non-elderly   
individuals as established under section
 #aijb7;a77#aj77;,a77i77,,viii7 of the  
,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#acif;a7a77#aj77;,a77i77,,viii774  7#b7 
,waiver and appeal  7,a7 ,waiver        
,paragraph 7#a7 may be waived or        
suspended in the ,senate only by an     
affirmative vote of three-fifths of the 
,members1 duly chosen and sworn4  7,b7  
,appeals ,an affirmative vote of        
three-fifths of the ,members of the     
,senate1 duly chosen and sworn1 shall be
 required to sustain an appeal of the   

ruling of the ,chair on a point of order
 raised under paragraph 7#a7 and debate 
on such an appeal shall be limited to #a
 hour1 to be equally divided between1   
and controlled by the appellant and the 
manager of the reconciliation bill1     
reconciliation resolution1 or joint     
resolution described in paragraph 7#a71 
as the case may be4  4