Loss of Medicaid funding will hurt...
Rural Hospitals
Medicaid, which covers over 16 million people in rural communities, helps address barriers to health care and sustain rural hospitals. But many in Congress are considering Medicaid cuts that would have a devastating impact on rural hospitals and patients.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) would result in 1.8 million individuals in rural communities losing their Medicaid coverage by 2034. In addition, select Medicaid provisions in H.R. 1 would result in a $50.4 billion reduction in federal Medicaid spending on rural hospitals over 10 years. [See the chart on the website for a state-by-state breakdown of rural spending and coverage losses.]
Rural Hospitals Are Already Struggling:
- 48% of rural hospitals operated at a financial loss in 2023.
- 92 rural hospitals have closed their doors or been unable to continue providing inpatient services over the past 10 years.
- Rural hospitals lose money on several critical service lines, including behavioral health, pulmonology, obstetrics, and burns and wounds.
Medicaid is Critical to Rural Hospitals:
- 16.1 million people living in rural communities are covered by Medicaid.
- In nine states, over 50% of the Medicaid population lives in rural communities: Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Mississippi, Vermont, Kentucky, North Dakota, Alaska and Maine.
- 47% of rural births in the U.S. are covered by Medicaid.
- 65% of nursing home residents in rural counties are covered by Medicaid.
Medicaid Already Pays Rural Hospitals Far Less Than the Cost of Care:
- Medicaid paid rural hospitals approximately 63 cents on the dollar for inpatient obstetrics care in 2024.
- There has been a 16% decline in rural counties with hospital-based obstetric care services over the last decade.
- Similarly, Medicaid payments covered approximately just 70% of costs for behavioral health services in hospital settings, which include substance use disorder treatment.
www.aha.org/...
Assisted Living, Rehabs, Nursing/Senior Living homes
According to data from The American Health Care Association and National Center
for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), almost one in five of the more than 800,000 assisted living residents in the U.S. use Medicaid to pay for daily care services.
AHCA/NCAL is urging lawmakers to protect Medicaid from potential cuts, noting the program has for years faced funding shortfalls in many states. As of 2019, Medicaid only covered 82 cents for every dollar spent on care.
Information from AHCA/NCAL states over the next five years, the U.S. population of individuals aged 80 years and older is expected to increase by more than 4 million people, with roughly one in three being economically insecure at the moment.
“It’s no secret that Medicaid is already underfunded, so any further cuts would be devastating,” Michael Bassett, senior vice president of government relations for AHCA/NCAL, said in a press release. “We will continue to urge lawmakers that there’s a better way to create government efficiencies while upholding the promise made to our nation’s seniors. seniorhousingnews.com/...
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"Medicaid covers a lot of community-based, home-based services. If you stop checking on the elderly to see if they're eating right and take away community-based services, people are going to be sicker, sicker and sicker. You'll then have sick people flood the hospitals. Hospitals will be burdened with a lot more sickly patients," said Dwayne Clark, the chair, chief executive and founder of Aegis Living, an assisted-living company that has 38 facilities with 3,000 residents...
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people over the age of 80 will increase from 14.7 million today to 18.8 million by 2030.
"We're dealing with an exploding population. Cutting Medicaid is not a rational approach," said [Clif Porter, president and chief executive of American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, the trade group for nursing homes and assisted-living centers]. "One danger of potential closures is an increase in nursing-home deserts."
When nursing homes close, patients are often transported to facilities farther away. In some cases, patients return home.
"Given the age and fragility of the patients, when facilities close, they may be sent to a facility 50 miles away. The senior may still get care, but their loved ones have to travel farther to see them. It can result in an increase in loneliness because of a lack of family nearby," Porter said. "People underestimate the impact of loneliness as we age. So when homes close, it absolutely affects the care and spirits of the patient." www.morningstar.com/...
Many Living on the Edge today
Who Will Be Hurt by Medicaid Cuts? Everyone. Four Ways Medicaid Cuts Will Backfire. By Susan Doig, LCSW, LPHA, CADC
...Medicaid is lifeline and keeps people off the streets, out of ERs and jails. Tens of millions depend on the program, including more than 3M in Illinois. Many live with serious mental illness. Cuts will put millions in jeopardy and have a negative impact on every district in Illinois. Here’s what’s at stake if Medicaid is cut:
Homelessness will increase. Housing is healthcare. Medicaid funds many of the services that support people with disabilities to stay housed. People in recovery often need ongoing supports to remain stable once they have a roof over their head. Reducing Medicaid funding will jeopardize all of these elements in this fragile ecosystem, causing more individuals to become homeless.
Hospitals, jails, prisons and nursing homes will be overcrowded. Some facilities will close.
Preventive care saves lives. It also cuts costs. Medicaid cuts would impede timely access to preventive care and medications people need to stay well. This means more preventable hospitalizations and more ER visits. In other states, Medicaid cuts triggered a 20% spike in ER visits, resulting in longer wait times for everyone. In turn, institutional costs increase for hospitals, nursing homes and jails. It’s also been shown that Medicaid reduces recidivism, and that people released from jails who get access to the program are less likely to be re-incarcerated. Losing Medicaid, on the other hand, increases incarceration…
Crime will increase. States that expanded Medicaid saw a 6% drop in violent crime and a 3% drop in property crime, according to Brookings. It has also been proven that access to Medicaid reduces arrests, particularly drug-related arrests. Why? Having access to care incentivizes people to seek treatment for substance-use issues. Stripping these resources criminalizes substance use issues. Providing treatment to those with substance use issues is flat-out more cost-effective than incarceration.
First Responders will be burdened with more mental health calls. When someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, they need mental health treatment. People with serious mental illness are more likely to come into contact with police when no alternatives are available. One in four police interactions involve people in mental health crises, and Medicaid cuts will increase this number. www.trilogyinc.org/...
OBGyn Patients & many Primary Care Providers
Three NC OB/GYN’s:
Why protecting Medicaid in our state is absolutely essential
As obstetricians and gynecologists, we are deeply concerned about the potentially devastating impact these cuts would have on our patients. Many of them rely on Medicaid for their healthcare needs. These are the individuals and families who have only recently gained access to health insurance through North Carolina’s Medicaid expansion. For many, it marks their first time having health insurance in years...
Cutting Medicaid would have a particularly severe impact on women of childbearing age, many of whom rely on Medicaid coverage to meet their health needs. In fact, nearly half of all births in our state are now covered by Medicaid. North Carolina’s recent Medicaid expansion legislation provided healthcare for many women of childbearing age before they became pregnant. Healthy mothers give birth to healthy babies, so eliminating or reducing Medicaid coverage for these women before they conceive will result in an increase in high-risk births, babies with serious health complications, and subsequently higher medical costs.
Instead of resorting to emergency rooms, we want our patients to have consistent access to healthcare. Removing this coverage from the thousands of women will lead to a perilous rise in preventable health complications and deaths not only in North Carolina but also across the nation. ncnewsline.com/...
Your mission today, if you choose to accept it, is to call your Senators.
Tell them how badly your state will be hurt without Medicaid support.
Give an assignment to them.
Have them call 10 OBGyn clinics in their state. Many, but not, all will take women on Medicaid. Some will take pregnant women on Medicaid for obstetrics services, but not for general gynecological services, like life saving pap smear tests for cancer.
Then have them ask how many would take a pregnant patient with no other insurance except Medicaid, if their Bloated Ugly bill passes and guts Medicaid nationwide.
Especially call your GOP Senators who keep saying that they are “pro-life” for pregnant patients.
I know that I can count of the women of DK to make these call, especially about OBGyn needs.
Men of DK, also, make these calls. Have our backs. Tell the GOP that these lives matter to you, too, because we all know that some politicians only seem to hear male voices, or think they are important.
Want a broader topic for your call? Try this script.
Hello, my name is (_____) and I live in (______). I am calling you today as a constituent to let you know that I’m deeply concerned about cuts to Medicaid and other essential programs. Medicaid is a lifeline and keeps people off the streets, out of ERs and jails. Cuts will put millions in jeopardy and have a negative impact on every district in our state. Please vote NO on ALL Medicaid cuts in the reconciliation bill to protect your constituents.
The old joke said the GOP Health Care Plan was “Don’t get sick. If you do get sick, die quickly.”
To Joni Ernst, apparently, this is no joke.
