Washington, D.C. – The American Diabetes Association (ADA) today endorsed Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva’s Medicaid Enhancement and Emergency Job Creation Act. The group, in a special announcement, thanked Grijalva “on behalf of the nearly 26 million Americans living with diabetes and the 79 million with prediabetes” for his “leadership” in introducing the bill in December, formally designated H.R. 3542.

Grijalva’s bill provides greater health care funds to state Medicaid programs by expanding the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages rates established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Now, more than ever, people with diabetes rely on Medicaid for the tools to manage their disease and reduce their risk of tragic – and costly – complications such as blindness, amputations, end-stage kidney disease and heart disease,” the ADA letter of support reads. “Restoring the enhanced Medicaid matching rates will allow states to reach our most vulnerable Americans while creating jobs in the health care sector.” The full letter is available at http://1.usa.gov/xHFrhi.

According to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, an additional $42 billion in Medicaid grants could close more than 40 percent of states’ budget shortfalls and provide immediate economic support, particularly for states with high unemployment. This assistance could increase employment by an estimated 444,000 jobs in a single year, while some estimates believe this number could be 1.6 million. You can review the full analysis at http://bit.ly/u4EyHL.

“This is common sense legislation for people that need care and a win for our economy,” Grijalva said in welcoming ADA’s support. “I appreciate the efforts of the American Diabetes Association and sincerely hope this helps the bill move forward. Arizonans and people around the country with health care needs shouldn’t be left to languish because they don’t have tens of thousands of dollars in the bank in a down economy.”