SEATTLE—Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) met with local healthcare professionals Tuesday, March 18, to discuss the potential impacts President Donald J Trump’s proposed Medicaid cuts could have on the public’s access to critical medical services.
On February 25, House Republicans voted in favor of Trump’s budget resolution which proposes to cut up to $880 billion from Medicaid.
Sen. Cantwell (D-WA), senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, equated these proposed cuts to a “tsunami” Tuesday noting that the State of Washington already ranks 51st in the nation in patient-to-bed ratio (1.6 beds per 1,000 residents) and these cuts would likely close hospitals in rural areas exacerbating this issue.
“I guarantee you this is not a drill,” said Sen. Cantwell. “We need everyone to call their member of Congress and the White House and say, ‘this level of massive cuts to Medicaid is not what we want,’”
Sen. Cantwell called President Trump’s proposed funding cuts for Medicaid a way to “fund tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy.”
Tuesday’s meeting took place at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center and included speakers Dr. Jason Deen, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and pediatric cardiologist at the University of Washington; Dr. Ettore Palazzo, CEO of Evergreen Health; and Yi-Hui Chi, Behavioral Health Director at Neighborcare Health.
“UW Medicine serves a diverse population and provided more than $836 million in uncompensated care in 2023. If reimbursement from Medicaid, Medicare, commercial insurers, or government programs were reduced, we would be forced to close beds or cut critical services. This would mean fewer options for patients, especially the most vulnerable in our communities who rely on us the most – leaving many with nowhere else to turn,” said UW Medicine CEO Dr. Tim Dellit
Harborview CEO Sommer Kleweno-Walley stated Tuesday that her institution simply could not exist if Trump’s proposed cuts were to move forward.
39% of Harborview’s revenue came from Medicaid in 2024.
Also speaking at Tuesday’s event, Whitney Stohr, advocate and mother of a son who was born with spina bifida, shared that without Medicaid there would be no way her family could afford the care her son, Malachi, needed during his early days at the hospital.
“We couldn’t pay for it then, we couldn’t pay for it now – at least not without Medicaid,” said Stohr. “For families like mine, for kids like Malachi, Medicaid is the lifeline.”
Joining Stohr’s personal testimony was McKenzi Fish, a childhood cancer survivor who went on to found Forever Fighters. When Fish was a teen she relied heavily on Medicaid during her fight against Hodgkin lymphoma
”Fourteen months of my treatments, scans, medications, and tests would have cost her [single mom] $500,000 … Cancer fighters endure many challenges emotionally, mentally, and physically during their fight. Financial worries and complications should not serve as an additional stress to an already exhausting struggle,” said Fish.
In Washington State, Medicaid, also known as Apple Health, funded 22.6% of inpatient care and 18.1% of outpatient care at hospitals in Western Washington during 2023, according to Cantwell’s Office.
In the Federal Way, Burien, SeaTac, and Kent areas, more than 70% of children are enrolled in Apple Health (Medicaid in the State of Washington). Medicaid is the largest payer at Seattle Children’s, accounting for over 50% of patients.
Last month, Sen. Cantwell released a snapshot report highlighting the impact Medicaid cuts could have on the public’s access to medical services. If these proposed cuts were to move forward the report noted that up to 782,000 Washingtonians could be at risk of losing coverage.
Removing or lowering the 50% floor on federal Medicaid matching rates could increase the Washington state government’s Medicaid costs by $1,197,000,000, or 18%, according to the report.
Cantwell’s Office also found that in the 7th Congressional District of Washington, 26% of children and 12% of adults are on Medicaid. In the 9th Congressional District, 56% of children and 21% of adults are on Medicaid.
According to Cantwell’s report, more than 1.8 million Washingtonians are enrolled in Medicaid (Apple Health). One in six adults, three in five nursing home residents, and three in eight people with disabilities in Washington are covered by the program.
Data provided by the Washington State Health Care Authority shows that Congressional District 4 (Central Washington) and Congressional District 5 (Eastern Washington) have the highest proportions of adults and total population on Medicaid (Apple Health). In District 4, 70% of children are on Apple Health.
White House Official Statement on Medicare Cuts
“The Trump Administration will not cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits. President Trump himself has said it (over and over and over again),” the White House released to any proposed cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
