To the editor:

I am outraged by the news of the proposed Medicaid cuts that would affect the services offered at the Bert Nash Community Health Center. As someone who has observed firsthand the outstanding work they do, I find this extremely disturbing.

The proposal, which was described in the Aug. 30 Journal-World, would cut funds for case management and rehabilitation services. This idea is the misguided creation of Mike Leavitt, head of Health and Human Services and a good friend of President Bush. They share the belief that a lean and shrunken government is the best for the nation. It does not matter that the most vulnerable of its citizens are left to drift for themselves.

Does anyone remember the election campaign of 2000? President Bush claimed he was a “compassionate conservative.” Is the reduction of Medicaid funds an act of compassion? “Compassionate conservatism” is merely a campaign buzz phrase now relegated to the trash bin of history.

Jack Ozegovic,

Lawrence