\u201cProposed Medicaid cuts will put Pennsylvanians\u2019 access to care in jeopardy, especially in rural areas, making our communities less healthy and economically competitive.\u201d\u00a0–\u00a0Nicole Stallings, President and CEO of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.
\nCombined, proposed federal Medicaid and Pennie cuts could jeopardize health coverage for over 570,000 Pennsylvanians, drive up health care costs, and put rural hospitals at risk of closure.<\/p>\n
Honesdale, PA\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Proposed Medicaid cuts\u00a0in\u00a0Congressional Republicans\u2019\u00a0budget bill would have devastating impacts on Pennsylvania\u2019s health care system.\u00a0Today,\u00a0Shapiro Administration officials joined rural health leaders at\u00a0Wayne Memorial\u00a0Hospital\u00a0to express concerns about the devastating\u00a0effects of the\u00a0proposed\u00a0cuts on rural Pennsylvanians and health care providers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe proposed changes to the Medicaid program would have grave consequences for health care across Pennsylvania, from hospitals to\u00a0individuals\u00a0in both\u00a0urban and\u00a0rural communities,\u201d said\u00a0Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. \u201cWhen people do not\u00a0have health insurance, they\u00a0are forced to forego preventive\u00a0care and rely on emergency care. This, in turn, leads not only to worse health outcomes, but also increases uncompensated health care services, increases insurance premiums, and increases health care costs for all Pennsylvanians\u00a0\u2013 on top of contributing to overcrowded emergency rooms.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Currently, proposed changes to Medicaid\u00a0could strip\u00a0health coverage from\u00a0more than 300,000 Pennsylvanians, drive up health care costs, and put rural hospitals out of business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the impact of the current federal proposal doesn\u2019t end there.\u00a0The bill fails to extend enhanced premium tax credits available to Pennsylvanians who purchase health insurance through Pennie, Pennsylvania\u2019s official health insurance marketplace.\u00a0These tax credits have made coverage more affordable than ever, and if they expire on schedule at the end of this year, it\u00a0will also risk health insurance for an additional 270,000 Pennsylvanians, adding to the risk to hospitals and\u00a0an increase in our\u00a0rates of\u00a0uninsured and\/or\u00a0uncompensated care.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe enhanced premium tax credits help individuals\u2014including Pennsylvanian farmers, small business owners and families\u2014afford quality insurance coverage and help our rural hospitals keep their doors open with the steady reimbursement for care that they need,\u201d said\u00a0Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys. \u201cCongress\u2019 proposed cuts to Medicaid and failure to renew these vital tax credits put Pennsylvanians at risk of losing critical access, putting lives and livelihoods in jeopardy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of us know someone \u2013 whether it\u2019s ourselves, a friend, loved one, or a neighbor \u2013 who Medicaid has helped. But no matter how you personally get your health care coverage, Medicaid is vital to protecting the health of your community,\u201d said\u00a0Department of Human Services Special Advisor Sara Goulet. \u201cCuts and changes to Medicaid will have grave consequences like crowded emergency departments, increases in the cost of health insurance, and the catastrophic effects on economies and health systems in rural areas. These cuts will create a public health crisis for our Commonwealth, and we must protect this program that is the backbone of our health system and a lifeline for our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The loss of Medicaid-funded health care services will likely result in:<\/p>\n
Increases in uncompensated care;Exacerbation of chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart conditions; and\/orDelays in seeking care or treatment, leading to worsened conditions, advanced diagnoses, and higher costs over time.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania cannot backfill or absorb these additional costs, as the Medicaid cuts create an unprecedented and unfunded increase in administrative burden that will strain existing operations and divert resources from delivering services to Pennsylvanians.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Medicaid cuts will also hurt county and local agencies responsible for eligibility and program support.<\/p>\n
Medicaid provides health coverage for approximately three million Pennsylvanians. During fiscal year 2024-25, the Commonwealth contributed more than $14 billion to the Medicaid program, which is matched by more than $30 billion in federal funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a community-owned health care organization,\u00a0Wayne Memorial\u00a0remains committed to the provision of accessible quality care for all,” said\u00a0Wayne Memorial Health System CEO Jim Pettinato. “We are hopeful our legislators will be mindful of this as it pertains to any adjustments to Medicaid funding.”<\/p>\n
\u201cProposed Medicaid cuts will put Pennsylvanians\u2019 access to care in jeopardy, especially in rural areas, making our communities less healthy and economically competitive,\u201d said\u00a0Nicole Stallings, President and CEO of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. \u201cPolicies under consideration will cut already insufficient hospital payments, reduce coverage, and increase uncompensated care. Hospitals cannot absorb a sudden cut of this magnitude, and some will have no choice but to reduce services or close.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ensuring rural Pennsylvanians have access to quality health care is a top priority for\u00a0Governor Josh Shapiro. His\u00a0proposed 2025-26 budget<\/a>\u00a0calls for investing\u00a0$10 million\u00a0in state funds that, if approved, draws down federal funding for a\u00a0$35.1 million\u00a0total investment in rural hospitals to provide\u00a0Pennsylvanians with access\u00a0to\u00a0high quality health care, and\u00a0$5 million\u00a0to expand the Department of Health\u2019s\u00a0Primary Care Loan Repayment Program<\/a>\u00a0offering loan repayment for health care providers\u00a0who\u00a0serve in rural communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Additional health care highlights in the proposed state budget include:<\/p>\n $20 million\u00a0in a new dedicated appropriation to health care facilities for patient safety and quality improvement initiatives\u00a0that reduce barriers to care like affordability and transportation and improve reliable access to needed providers;$5 million\u00a0in strategic investments to address nursing shortages through the Nurse Shortage Assistance Program;\u00a0$10 million\u00a0to expand behavioral health loan repayment programs to meet the growing demand for mental health care and address workforce shortages; and\u00a0another\u00a0$10 million\u00a0in state funds to support all hospitals across Pennsylvania, leveraging additional federal funding to invest another\u00a0$35.1\u00a0million to help hospitals respond to urgent patient needs and staffing requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cProposed Medicaid cuts will put Pennsylvanians\u2019 access to care in jeopardy, especially in rural areas, making our communities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-22350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}