Thousands of Montgomery County residents\u00a0may\u00a0lose coverage\u00a0because\u00a0of\u00a0recent cuts to federal health care\u00a0programs,\u00a0representatives of the county\u2019s Department of Health and Human Services told the County Council during a briefing Tuesday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cuts at issue are part of the\u00a0One Big Beautiful Bill Act<\/a>\u00a0that President Donald Trump signed into law in July.\u00a0Those covered through the Affordable Care Act\u2019s Medicaid expansion\u00a0are specifically targeted by the cuts, including younger adults and certain immigrants.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we think about who makes up that expansion population, that\u2019s our county\u2019s self-employed business owners, including our farmers up in the\u00a0[Agricultural]\u00a0Reserve\u00a0\u2026 it\u2019s our workforce that\u2019s employed by our small businesses\u00a0\u2026 it\u2019s our students,\u201d said Nina Ashford, the county\u2019s chief of public health services, during the briefing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Republicans in Congress hope the cuts will decrease the amount of money the federal government spends on health care.\u00a0Democrats argue that the cuts will shift costs onto states, employers and individuals who may not be able to absorb them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n To\u00a0reverse some of the cuts, most\u00a0Congressional Democrats have withheld their support for a resolution to keep funding the federal government, resulting in the\u00a0ongoing\u00a0shutdown that began Oct. 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Ashford, 19% of Montgomery County residents \u2013 around 205,000 people \u2013 are currently covered by Medicaid.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Of those, Ashford said, up to 23,000 could lose coverage between 2026 and 2028\u00a0because of\u00a0new requirements they are unable to meet or the burden of having to prove their eligibility more\u00a0frequently\u00a0as a result of\u00a0the new law.\u00a0<\/p>\n That figure includes 3,000 Montgomery County residents\u00a0who can expect to or already have lost\u00a0coverage entirely, Ashford said. Among them are asylees, refugees and people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals\u00a0program.\u00a0<\/p>\n County health officials hope that many of those who lose Medicaid coverage in the coming years will be able to\u00a0benefit\u00a0from\u00a0county\u00a0programs\u00a0such as\u00a0Montgomery Cares<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Care for Kids<\/a>, which provide access to primary care, oral health\u00a0care\u00a0and other limited services.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those programs \u2013 while helpful \u2013\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0a substitute for insurance, Ashford said. And while the programs have the capacity to support all of those who may lose Medicaid coverage under the new law, there\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0sufficient money in the programs\u2019 budgets to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe bottom line is there\u2019s an increased risk of worse outcomes and higher cost for our clients,\u201d said Monica Martin, the county\u2019s chief of\u00a0behavioral\u00a0health and crisis services.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mitigation efforts<\/p>\n The\u00a0council recently announced a $7.75 million spending package aimed at offsetting the local impact of recent federal actions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The package, which was introduced Tuesday and will come up for a final vote on Nov. 18,\u00a0includes money for food\u00a0assistance, short-term housing, LGBTQIA+ resources, economic\u00a0development\u00a0and nonprofit\u00a0organizations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Asked during her media briefing Tuesday afternoon if the council is open to similar cash infusions for Montgomery Cares and Care for Kids,\u00a0council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) said county officials are still working to understand the full impact of the\u00a0federal\u00a0cuts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt this time, it is not included in the resolution that we put together,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cHowever, as was discussed this morning, we will continue to work with the\u00a0Primary\u00a0Care\u00a0Coalition, our Department of Health and Human Services, our other nonprofit partners, to address the needs as they arise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n