Reach out to Congress: Tell Them the Impact of Medicaid Cuts
Congress is making progress towards a budget reconciliation package to advance the new Administration’s domestic agenda. Health-related proposals, particularly within the Medicaid program, are being discussed as potential offsets for other policies. Recently, both the House and Senate advanced their fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget resolutions, which call for trillions in spending cuts that could potentially impact Medicaid and other key health care programs.
Many Virginians rely on Medicaid coverage more so in rural parts of the Commonwealth with almost one quarter of adults and 40% of children living in rural areas enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP. Cuts to Medicaid would shift health care costs onto families, many of whom are already struggling with paying for education, groceries, housing and bills. Without Medicaid, families would face higher out-of-pocket expenses, leading many to delay or forgo necessary treatments, worsening health outcomes, especially for those managing chronic conditions, in addition to overburdening hospital systems, who are already struggling with workforce shortages and overcrowding.
Medicaid is not just a healthcare program—it plays a significant role in sustaining the viability of community health centers (CHCs). Medicaid expansion is associated with improved CHC financial performance and substantially lower likelihoods of closure, especially in rural markets and counties with large numbers of uninsured adults before Medicaid expansion. Drastic cuts could force many CHCs to reduce services, or close their doors entirely, leaving residents to travel further for care.
For more information on how reforms of Medicaid spending can impact your community, please use the 2023 Rural Medicaid coverage by county, the 2024 Medicaid Enrollment Data, Percent of Total Population, by state or Congressional District, and KFF’s Maps on State-by-State Estimates from Eliminating the Medicaid Expansion Federal Match Rates.
Want to contact your member of Congress directly? Quickly identify and contact elected officials including, members of Congress currently representing your health center and community. Remember, you have the power to make your voice heard by contacting your representatives and advocating for the issues that matter most to you.
Congress needs to hear from you!
Through our advocacy efforts, VCHA wants to connect your stories to members of Congress and the Administration ensuring your messages are heard by those with the power to enact change at every level.
Sharing your personal stories is a vital part of advocacy. At VCHA, we want to lift-up your voices and capture your experiences in our advocacy efforts. Please share your experiences and your patients experiences, whether it is working in your health center, struggling with workforce shortages, traveling far distances to obtain healthcare access, experiencing the impact of health center reduced services or closures in your community, or explaining how specific programs and funding have benefited or harmed your community.
We will be tracking and saving your stories to utilize and quote in specific advocacy campaigns, messaging, social media, and Hill meetings with Congress.
If you have any questions or requests, please contact info@vcha.org.
Medicaid is a lifeline for Virginia’s Community Health Centers (CHCs), playing a pivotal role in lowering costs for families and providing aging and disability care and comprehensive health care. Cutting or defunding Medicaid would also create major gaps in state funding and devastate state budgets. Any type of cut – whether as block grants, per capita caps, work requirements, or other changes – will take critical care away from millions of people.
In Virginia, cuts to Medicaid would affect the over 1.8 million people – or 1 in 8 adults – who rely on Medicaid for healthcare and access to home and community-based care.
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