Local healthcare leaders sound alarm over Medicaid cuts 

A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that Republican-sponsored legislation unveiled Sunday night would jeopardize healthcare for 3.9 million Floridians. 

The study also found that the bill would slash Medicaid spending by $715 billion and “reduce the number of people with health insurance by at least 8.6 million in 2034.” Healthcare leaders from both sides of the bay joined Congresswoman Kathy Castor to advocate against the cuts Monday afternoon. 

Castor will share stories highlighting Medicaid’s impacts on local families when the Energy and Commerce Committee debates the legislation Tuesday. Kanika Tomalin, CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, said over 135,000 Pinellas County residents rely on the social safety net. 

“Medicaid, quite literally, saves lives,” Tomalin said. “But this is about much more than medical care. When any stream of funding is suddenly and drastically cut at hospitals, doctor offices or any other avenues of the healthcare continuum, it results in significant job losses across the board.” 

Tomalin, a former deputy mayor and Bayfront Health executive, noted that Medicaid cuts would affect the “entire economy.” The loss of funding will first impact families struggling to make ends meet amid soaring living costs.. 

Congress established Medicaid in 1965 to ensure that anyone, regardless of income, can access basic healthcare. Castor said Americans believe in helping their neighbors. “You’re not going to have to suffer by yourself.” 

Castor and her Democratic colleagues believe the spending cuts will fund tax breaks for billionaires. Republican proponents believe eliminating wasteful spending will ensure the program’s long-term success. 

The legislation seems to have avoided the most controversial proposals while exceeding the committee’s savings goal. However, medicaid recipients would still pay more for doctors’ visits and must complete additional paperwork to prove eligibility. 

If approved in its current form, the bill would require poor, childless adults between the ages of 19 and 64 to work or perform 80 hours of community service monthly. It also prevents Medicaid from funding healthcare providers that offer abortions, like Planned Parenthood. 

The government-sponsored health insurance pays care providers roughly 80 cents on the dollar. About 60% of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital patients utilize Medicaid. 

Not all Republicans approve of program cuts. In an op-ed published Monday in the New York Times, Sen. Josh Hawley said: “If Congress cuts funding for Medicaid benefits, Missouri workers and their children will lose their health care. And hospitals will close. It’s that simple. And that pattern will replicate in states across the country.”

Elodie Dorso, CEO of St. Petersburg-based Evara Health, said she spoke at Castor’s event on behalf of her organization’s 70,000 local patients and millions statewide who rely on Medicaid as a “gateway to healthcare.” 

“Medicaid is not just a safety net,” Dorso added. “It is the backbone of the care we provide at Evara Health – nearly half of our patients are covered by Medicaid.” 

She said those people include working parents, children, seniors and patients with chronic diseases. Dorso said those who rely on Medicaid have “nowhere else to turn.” 

She noted that the average cost to visit a community health center is $250. A trip to the emergency room is about $3,000. 

“The numbers are clear: Investing in primary care and Medicaid saves lives and saves money,” Dorso said. “Cuts to Medicaid are cuts to care, and the impacts will be immediate, real and harmful across Florida.” 

Dorso explained how individual healthcare improves when patients enroll in the program. Expectant mothers receive regular prenatal checkups, behavioral health support and nutrition counseling. 

Ensuring healthy mothers and babies benefits an already overburdened health care system. “So, in a state like Florida, where we have not expanded Medicaid and eligibility is already extremely limited, cuts to this program will devastate families and communities.” 

Tampa Health Centers hosted the event, and CEO Sherry Hoback also urged Congress to leave Medicaid untouched. Her organization serves 130,000 people throughout the area annually, and she called the program the “thread that holds all this together.” 

Hoback said Medicaid offers “peace of mind” and alleviates stress associated with not knowing if you can afford a medical diagnosis. Castor said the program ensures elderly residents can live out their final years in long-term care facilities rather than “on the street.” 

Tomalin noted the health disparities between zip codes with lower socioeconomic metrics. However, she said community stakeholders have made “great strides” because “hundreds of partners come together in thousands of ways to craft countless solutions.” 

“We know that quality access to care sits at the core of that work,” Tomalin continued. “It’s often said that our treatment of the most vulnerable. Medicaid maintained at least at current levels provides a safety net that supports us all.”