Special report on federal cuts to our local hospitals

Dear neighbors,

Session is almost halfway done, and we have passed two major deadlines. Legislation that has not made it out of committee deliberations will not be heard or receive a vote on the House floor.  

For this newsletter, I wanted to focus on healthcare. With the chaos around funding for Medicare and Medicaid at the federal level, it is important to me to be clear about the dangers associated with the proposed cuts to healthcare in the Republican budget.  

Here’s what’s happening: to pass trillions in dollars in tax cuts using the budget reconciliation process, the Republicans in Congress have to show it’s revenue neutral. So they have to pay for trillions  in tax cuts for the wealthy, and one way to do that is slashing Medicaid.  

Working families—especially in timber and farm country—will pay the price. The budget passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would cause massive harm to our health care system here in the 24th District.  

A report by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell shows how bad these cuts would hurt us.  

Our rural hospitals rely on Medicare and Medicaid, which makes up more than half the funding for our major hospitals here in the 24th: Summit Pacific Medical Center, Harbor Regional Health, Olympic Medical Center, and Jefferson Healthcare.   

Here are the numbers:  

Local hospital	Medicaid	Medicare	Other
Summit Pacific	29 %	30 %	41 %
Harbor Regional	24 %	32 %	44 %
Olympic Medical	15 %	59 %	26 %
Jefferson Healthcare	12 %	57 %	31 %

 

Local hospitals are already hurting.  

Olympic Medical Center has long survived on a slim 2 to 3 percent margin. That hospital provides vital services to a population of nearly 80,000 people of Port Angeles and Sequim. CEO Darryl Wolfe said, “Further cuts of any sort will further jeopardize our financial position.”  

Mike Glenn, CEO of Jefferson Healthcare says, “Tossing thousands of low-income residents off Medicaid would threaten our finances and possibly lead to reductions in services and staff.”   

Cuts to healthcare funding doesn’t just affect healthcare facilities and their ability to administer care, it also affects communities’ perceptions of healthcare.   

Mike Glenn, CEO of Jefferson, notes, “we have learned that patients without insurance put off regular doctor visits, important prescriptions, and other preventative care measures. This inevitably leads to delayed diagnosis, advanced disease, and high-cost ED visits. Squeezing Medicaid is penny smart, dollar foolish policy, placing lives on the line.”  

Medicaid and Medicare extend beyond healthcare, providing substantial funding to emergency transport services.   

“Firefighters and EMTs are often first on the scene in a medical emergency, when every second matters,” said Washington State Council of Fire Fighters (WSCFF) President Dennis Lawson. “If Medicaid reimbursement for emergency transportation is cut, many fire departments across the state could face significant budget shortfalls. Every Washingtonian should be concerned about any funding cuts that could lead to slower response times in a life-threatening emergency.”  

If this budget passes, and these cuts happen, it would be devastating to our hospitals, patients, and rural towns.   

Our state has limited ability to fill the gap. We’re already looking at filling a budget gap of $12 billion or more.  

The budget bill now moves to the U.S. Senate. I’ll keep a close watch on what’s happening, and stay in touch with Senator Cantwell, Senator Patty Murray, and local U.S. Rep. Emily Randall. 

If you have a comment, or a story to share, please contact me. Personal stories can often do a better job of persuasion than numbers. And I know many of you have stories to tell about health care out here in the 24th District, and the need to have strong local hospitals. We can’t afford to have them shut down.