One year ago, Donald Trump and Republicans made the largest health care cuts in history, slashing more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. A year later, hospitals are telling the story of what that decision has actually cost.
Hospital leaders are warning that communities across the country are already losing access to life-saving care. Faced with losses of hundreds of millions, in some cases, billions, of dollars, hospitals are being forced to make difficult decisions about what services they can afford to keep providing. Maternity wards are closing, critical care units are being scaled back, and health care workers are losing their jobs. For many families, these cuts can mean the difference between having care close to home and driving hours for treatment — or going without it completely. No one has a clearer view of the damage than the leaders fighting to keep hospital doors open and essential care available in the communities that depend on them.
Throughout the month of June, Protect Our Care is blasting Republicans for their health care crisis ahead of the one-year anniversary of their big, ugly bill on July 4th.
Bill Lee, CEO, Evans Memorial Hospital, Georgia
- “Lee says that the hospital will be forced to cut around $3.3 million from their annual budget. This is after the hospital also had to cut their OBGYN services. Lee says there could be more cuts on the horizon. ‘We are forced to think about issues and services that we would need to cut, ICU would be one that would fall quickly on the list,’ said Lee.” [WTOC]
Nancy Osmundson, Chief Public Relations Director, Teton Valley Health Care, Idaho
- “In the last few weeks, Teton Valley Health Care in Driggs, Idaho, nearly shut down. That was until an anonymous donor stepped in. ‘We were facing bankruptcy a few weeks ago,’ said Nancy Osmundson, chief public relations director at TVHC. ‘We were looking at closing our doors.’”
- “The hospital put the clinic on pause because of the high cost of the medicine it requires, especially in the context of delayed and slashed federal reimbursements. ‘When we have to put out $300,000 for some medications, we simply had to make the decision to stop infusion so we could use that cash for paying our staff,’ Osmundson said.”[KHOL]
Dan Regan, Vice President, Communications and Marketing, Sinai Chicago, Illinois
- “‘What you’re going to see with Medicaid cuts is deeper inequities and higher long-term costs,’ Dan Regan, spokesperson at Sinai Chicago, said. ‘We have worse life expectancies here on the West Side by almost 20 years in some cases than what they have just six miles to the east. The health disparities have the potential to worsen.’”
- “‘You’re going to be forced to make difficult decisions, where you’ve got to prioritize more limited resources and provide the services that are most critically needed by our communities,’ Regan said.” [WTTW]
JJ Hodshire, CEO, Hillsdale Hospital, Michigan
- “‘We’re talking about issues of life and death. This isn’t any longer talking about politics, or who’s right on the left and who’s right on the right. This is talking about human lives,’ said JJ Hodshire, Hillsdale Hospital CEO.”
- “Federal Medicaid cuts mean roughly $6 million in annual losses for Hillsdale Hospital. Departments like pregnancy care and mental health are the first services to go when margins get thin. Hodshire said that’s why advocacy matters now. ‘When you look at what happens next, yeah, lift our voices up, and we have to do that respectfully. We do it in a forum where we’re educating, where it’s real statistics and we’re going to talk about the real faces that this impacts,’ Hodshire said.” [WILX]
Tom Klemond, Interim CEO, Hennepin Healthcare, Minnesota
- “‘We’re vulnerable on a good day and in good economic conditions,’ said Dr. Tom Klemond, interim CEO of Hennepin Healthcare. ‘We struggle to meet our costs, to cover our costs and generally need assistance to, so the bill itself is catastrophic. Especially in the longer term.’”
- “Klemond offered a bleak outlook on the health care provider’s projected revenue after the cuts go into effect. ‘We’ve calculated out probably $1.5 billion [in losses] over the next 10 years, which is not survivable,’ he said. ‘That’s our entire budget. So, we’re very worried about the future and our viability with this bill.’” [CCX Media]
Edward Shanshala, CEO, Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, New Hampshire
- “Edward Shanshala, CEO of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, said when Congress passed its massive tax cuts and spending law last year, he and his colleagues made the difficult decision to shut down the organization’s clinic in Franconia in anticipation of the law’s impacts. Shanshala doesn’t think a new tranche of federal funding will be enough to fully alleviate the pressures his organization is facing. ‘We’re all feeling the tension and pressure on changes as a result of this law.’”
- “Shanshala stressed that the bill comes at a difficult time for rural health care. He used labor and delivery as an example. He pointed out that Androscoggin Valley Hospital “is the only critical access hospital in Coös County that has the capacity to deliver babies.” He said if the hospital were to close its maternity ward, it would have a cascading effect. ‘With obstetric care at risk, it’s not only devastating for a community who may have to drive many more miles to deliver a baby,’ he said. ‘It makes it much more difficult to recruit (new employees) if I have to say, ‘In an entire county there is no place to deliver a baby in a hospital setting.’’” [New Hampshire Bulletin]
Emaeil Porsa, President and CEO, Harris Health, Texas
- “‘We need to make sure that our politicians understand that this is beyond whatever ideological differences they may have about the Affordable Care Act,’ said Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, the president and CEO of Harris Health, in an interview. ‘This is really going to be harming our communities, especially communities that really are already struggling.’”
- “‘Forget about the fact that the cost of care is going to skyrocket,’ Porsa said. ‘That person will have a more limited livelihood and life expectancy than they would have if they had gone to any hospital to take care of the situation (sooner).’” [Houston Chronicle]
Brian Gibbons, President and CEO, Astria Health, Washington
- “The stability of the entire healthcare system is threatened, said Brian Gibbons, president of Astria Health.”
- “‘We are proud to serve everyone who walks through our doors,’ he said. “But here’s the truth — the math no longer works.’”
- “‘In communities like ours, where Medicaid is currently the lifeline, cuts to reimbursement shift the entire burden onto hospitals,’ he said. ‘These are communities with very few large employers and limited access to private insurance.’”
- “‘When hospitals like ours are forced to close departments, consolidate services or even shut down entirely due to funding shortfalls, it’s not just one group that suffers — it’s everyone … working families, seniors and children.’” [Tri-City Herald]