The cuts to Medicaid will hit Washington State and our CHCs harder than others. According to Gov. Ferguson’s statement, at least 250,000 will lose their Medicaid coverage, and up to 620,000 are at risk of losing other existing health coverage.
Medicaid makes up 61% of care delivered by CHCs in Washington. Due to their mission and values, health centers already serve anyone regardless of their insurance status. A significant increase in the number of uninsured in our community, coinciding with a significant decrease in Medicaid revenue, however, will hinder their ability to provide lifesaving, coordinated, and comprehensive care to all. CHCs will be left with some tough choices including cutting core services, reducing essential staff, or closing sites.
The bill also eliminates the funding authorization for Area Health Education Centers (AHEC). If not included in the upcoming appropriations process, our health system will see reduced access to care in underserved and rural areas and a shrinking community health workforce. We ask that Congress include funding for AHEC in the upcoming appropriations process.
We appreciate the efforts of the Senate to mitigate the impact through the Rural Health Transformation Program. However, this will not be enough to sustain our health system and our CHCs. We will continue to work with Congress through the appropriations process to ensure we can continue to operate effectively and provide the highest quality care for the most vulnerable among us.
