WA health leaders, Sen. Cantwell rail against Medicaid cuts

WA health leaders react to proposed Medicaid cuts

Sen. Maria Cantwell, local health leaders and patients spoke at a news conference opposing proposed federal funding cuts to Medicaid.

SEATTLE - 1.9 million Washingtonians are enrolled in Medicaid, known as Apple Health, in Washington state. Now, the health program is at risk of proposed federal funding reductions, the largest cut ever proposed for Medicaid.

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D) held a news conference at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, joined by health leaders and patients, to express their opposition to the proposed cuts.

"This is a massive cut that is being proposed. This is a tsunami of cuts coming at the people of Washington and the United States of America," said Cantwell. "It’s an assault on an essential program."

Republicans vote to cut Medicaid

The backstory:

In February, U.S. House Republicans voted to advance President Donald Trump’s budget resolution. As part of that plan, it proposed an $880 million cut from federal healthcare programs, like Medicaid.

"This is a ridiculous proposal and very devastating to our healthcare system," said Cantwell. "We are fighting to protect Medicaid."

The Trump Administration said it would not cut Medicaid benefits, but explained the cuts to federal spending are to reduce waste and fraud. The White House further stated, "The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates taxpayers lose as much as $521 billion annually to fraud — and most of that is within entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid."

However, health officials said any cuts in Medicaid funding could be devastating to facilities, services, jobs, and patients that rely on the program.

Will Washington lose Medicaid services?

"Without Medicaid, Harborview does not exist," said Sommer Kleweno-Walley, CEO of Harborview Medical Center. "Last year, over 35,000 individuals or nearly 35 percent of the patients we serve here at Harborview were on Medicaid. In addition, we provided over $44 million of care to patients who were not insured at all. It is challenging to overstate how crucial Medicaid funding is to Harborview. Even a small cut would have a material impact on Harborview."

Sen. Cantwell’s team conducted a new study for western Washington. It found Congressional Districts 7 and 9 alone received the highest amounts of Medicaid payments for hospital care in 2024.

What they're saying:

"The new report found that Medicaid funded $3.3 billion worth of hospital care in Washington state. So, our hospitals, like Harborview, Seattle Children’s, Fred Hutch, Evergreen, and many others rely on that payment," said Cantwell.

Seven-year-old Malachi was born with spina bifida, epilepsy, and congenital heart defects. His mother, Whitney Stohr, said for years, Apple Health had covered his health expenses that her family could not afford on their own. Now, the federal proposal to cut Medicaid funding puts money they rely on for Malachi’s health at risk.

"Loss of Medicaid would be financially devastating," said Stohr. "We’re a middle-class family. We live a middle-class life, and we don’t have the money to just shoot it out in different directions because we lose his Medicaid."

Why you should care:

Of the more than 1.9 million Washingtonians enrolled in Apple Health, almost half of them are children, many who have dire health needs.

"Medicaid is the most important children’s health program in the U.S. Almost half of the kids and teens in the United States are covered under Medicaid and that includes over 900,000 kids in Washington state," said Dr. Jason Deen, associate professor of pediatrics and pediatric cardiologist at the University of Washington.

This proposal is still being discussed in the U.S. Senate. Cantwell urged people in all districts to contact their Congressional leaders, so their concerns could be heard and possibly make a difference.

Stohr said she is in disbelief that a proposal that could hurt millions of people nationwide is even being considered in the first place.

"It’s looking at all of these people, and it’s saying, ‘We don’t care about you.’ And that is not American," said Stohr. "Those are not our values, those are not family values, those should not be anybody’s values. And yet, that is where we are. And that is terrifying."

The Source: Information in this story comes from FOX 13 Seattle reporter Franque Thompson.