Advocates have been warning for weeks that federal cuts to Medicaid would impact Virginia’s healthcare system.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration briefed legislators on those cuts for the first time this week. And they are significant if amendments aren’t made.
Cheryl Roberts, Director of the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, tried to lighten the mood during Wednesday’s Senate Finance meeting by offering both good and bad news:
“I’m gonna do two things, I’m going to talk about Cardinal Care for a bit and that’ll be your sunshine for the moment,” she told the Virginia senate’s money committee. “But, then I’ll talk about the federal bill.”
Roberts said that “sunshine” involves successful changes in coverage to folks on subsidized healthcare plans. But the federal budget bill, well, that’s a different story.
Both the House and Senate versions under consideration by Congress add work requirements and demand more state resources to police the Medicaid system. Roberts said it could double administrative costs.
Retroactive coverage would be cut from three to one or two months, gender dysphoria treatments would no longer be covered and copayments would be required. These changes and others are bad news for an estimated 400,000 Virginians on Medicaid.
And there’s pain for healthcare providers too: proposed changes would cause every hospital in the state to lose funds; more than $2 billion annually upon full implementation.
“They would have devastating effects for access to care, particularly in rural communities where there is high dependence on Medicaid,” Julian Walker with the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.
Walker added the national chapter of the state hospital advocacy group was already lobbying congress to keep as much of that funding as possible.
Walker said the national chapter of the state hospital advocacy group was already lobbying congress to keep as much of that funding as possible. And even state Senator Mark Obenshain, whose rural, western-Virginia district would be deeply impacted by the proposed cuts, noted pushback was present.
“There were many members of the senate, even on the Republican side, who seemed to express some significant concern about the impact on rural hospitals,” Obenshain said of efforts by conservatives like Missouri Senator Josh Hawley.
State Senator Barbara Favola said finding state funds to cover the lost billions would be a herculean task.
“Whether we have to change what Medicaid expansion looks like, or make some tweaks to ensure everybody at least has some basic level of coverage,” she told Radio IQ Friday morning. “I'm sure those conversations will be on the table.”
Favola also questioned the cutting of funds while asking states to spend more to police the program.
“We’re being forced to spend large amounts of money on an administrative apparatus, dollars that could be spent on services, and there’s little evidence that there’s eligibility fraud on these programs,” Favola said. “There’s more evidence to suggest more are eligible but do not get enrolled - that’s the sad part.”
Deliberations in Congress are ongoing. A final version of the bill is expected sometime this summer.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
