Healthcare coalition cautions against harmful cuts to Medicaid

QUEENSBURY | Members of the Healthcare Coalition for the North Country, a nonpartisan, volunteer coalition of healthcare professionals, caregivers, business and community leaders, Medicaid recipients, and concerned citizens, gathered in the New York State Capitol and downtown Lake George in mid-May to caution Washington leaders against enacting quick cuts to Medicaid that could do serious damage to the North Country's regional healthcare delivery system. The Coalition instead called for a sensible, fact-driven and carefully considered approach to identifying savings in the federal budget. "This Coalition is asking our leaders in Washington to please listen," said Coalition co-founder Dr. John Rugge. "Medicaid underpins the entire healthcare delivery system in the North Country, and the wrong cuts would risk major disruptions for local hospitals, nursing homes, and medical practices. Cuts of the magnitude now being considered cannot be achieved only by cutting waste, fraud and abuse. We urge these leaders to consult with their communities and enact legislation based upon carefully considered public policy so those who are seeking to cut do not inadvertently gut Medicaid." "It is important to recognize that Medicaid cuts will impact all of us, not just the 215,000+ residents of the 21st Congressional District who are actually on Medicaid," said Dr. Richard Leach, a member of the Coalition's steering committee. "Haphazardly cutting Medicaid could increase the cost of healthcare systemwide and force the closure of hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and other offices and healthcare businesses that are already operating on the margins. These are all employers in the North Country, where the healthcare sector is one of our most important economic pillars." "I have been practicing medicine since the time Medicaid took effect," said retired physician William Tedesco, who is also a Coalition steering committee member. "As a major payor for health-related services, Medicaid is a critical to the North Country's healthcare providers and is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people in our region. Medicaid covers 28% of the North Country's population, 50% of childbirths here, 34.5% of our children, and 60% of our nursing home residents.Elected officials in Washington who do not understand this need to pay closer attention." The Coalition has launched a website, www.northcountrymedicaid.org, aimed at informing elected officials and the public about the importance of Medicaid to our communities and the potential impact of cuts. The site provides data and engagement tools for concerned residents and officials. As part of the current federal fiscal year 2025-26 budget discussions, between $600 and $700 billion in funding reductions to Medicaid have been proposed for ten years. Reductions of this magnitude relative to the overall size of Medicaid cannot be recovered by only eliminating fraud and abuse. Possible impacts are alarming: Tens of thousands of North Country residents could lose coverage, resulting in these neighbors delaying care, being sicker when they do seek care, using emergency rooms more frequently, being hospitalized more frequently, and amassing debts related to medical bills. This would increase the cost of emergency and hospital care for all of us, not just those who lose their Medicaid coverage. Hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics could reduce staff, offer fewer services, and accumulate more unpaid debt. This would affect all patients, regardless of whether they are on Medicaid. Hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and other offices and healthcare businesses that are already operating on the margins may well be forced to close. These closures could result in thousands of jobs being lost and hundreds of millions of dollars of associated spending no longer occurring in the North Country. Patients who are not positioned to do so, including pregnant women, could have to travel much longer distances to get care. Decreased availability and quality of healthcare would make the North Country less attractive to people considering moving here, including businesses and primary and second home buyers. Home values and tax revenues would likely drop, and tax rates would rise. Recovering from the above impacts would take far more time than it will take to enact the reductions and cost far more than any budgetary savings that cuts would initially produce. In some cases, healthcare services could be gone forever. "The Healthcare Coalition for the North Country is dedicated to our mission of preserving access to Medicaid for all deserving recipients," concluded Dr. Rugge. "We will continue meeting with elected and community leaders to enable a full understanding of these important issues. We urge all who share our concerns to join us in asking Washington leaders to consult with their communities before they act."

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Healthcare coalition cautions against harmful cuts to Medicaid

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