The Affordable Care Act has ushered in seismic changes in health care and delivery for millions of Americans.
While not perfect, the ACA has resulted in new Medicaid coverage for 580,000 people living in Washington and more than 20 million Americans across the country.
At Providence, we are serving many people who have regular health care for the first time.
The U.S. House and Senate bills to replace the ACA will largely dismantle these coverage gains, including the Medicaid expansion. Undoing that progress is unconscionable.
Locally, an estimated 45,000 of the 147,500 Medicaid enrollees in Southwest Washington (Providence’s five-county primary service area of Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties) would be negatively impacted by a rollback of the ACA. In Lewis County, more than 7,900 of the 27,400 Medicaid enrollees would be impacted.
The massive cuts in the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act will not only cancel the Medicaid expansion, they also will deconstruct this vital program.
The cuts are far more severe than the House bill and will have disastrous and far-reaching effects.
Today, Medicaid supports rural health clinics, preventive screenings for at-risk children, prenatal care for pregnant women and many other services. Medicaid also is the largest provider of long-term care and nursing home services for the frail and elderly in the U.S.
Passing the Senate bill means fewer people will have Medicaid to count on when they are confronting diabetes, cancer, a mental health concern including substance use, an aging parent who needs nursing home care, or special services for a child with a disability.
The cutbacks will hurt these vulnerable individuals and many others in our communities.
We believe health care is a basic human right. It should be accessible and affordable for all.
If health care insurance is not available or is unaffordable, many will choose not to seek treatment and will suffer unnecessarily.
Ultimately, large population losses in coverage and access will affect the health and well-being of entire communities. In addition, delayed diagnosis will be more common, actually increasing the cost of care.
The bill currently under consideration in the Senate will be catastrophic to individuals and families across our state.
This is not the right solution.
As a nation, we must continuously move forward in promoting health.
We need thoughtful legislative solutions that assure access to health care, bringing community wellness and eliminating barriers to care.
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Medrice Coluccio is the chief administrative officer for Providence Southwest Washington
Kevin Caserta is the chief medical officer for Providence Southwest Washington
