Times Union - Commentary: Keeping Medicaid healthy is a moral imperative

The Times Union published an op-ed on Sunday, June 1, from Steven Hanks, M.D., president and CEO of Trinity Health New York’s St. Joseph’s Health and St. Peter’s Health Partners, where he details the devastating impact proposed Medicaid cuts would have on health care. The publication summed up the contents of the piece with their headline: “Cuts to this essential program will affect services across the Capital Region and beyond — damaging health care access for everyone.”

The letter, as it first appeared in the Times Union:

Not-for-profit health systems like St. Peter’s Health Partners have long served as the health care safety net for the most vulnerable in our society. It has been our mission and our privilege from day one to care for all people in our communities.

The reality is we cannot continue to provide that care at the level our communities deserve without supportive policy from our country’s leadership. In fact, access to care for all of us is threatened by cutting off care for some of us.

Right now, Congress holds the health of millions of Americans in its hands. The Senate is preparing to review a multitrillion-dollar budget bill passed by the House last week, a bill that in its current form will significantly slash Medicaid and increase the national debt.

This deeply flawed proposal should alarm all of us and should be rejected. It ignores a fundamental moral truth: Health care is not a privilege; it is a human right.

When access to health care is weakened, the ripple effects touch every part of society — from public health to economic strength, from family security to the stability of our communities and our regional workforce. Cuts to Medicaid don’t just impact a few of us; they affect all of us.

For the nearly 80 million Americans who depend on Medicaid, it’s not just a health program but a lifeline. Medicaid provides:

Coverage for 41% of births in the United States.

Health care for nearly half of all children in the U.S.

Coverage for more than 1.6 million U.S. military veterans.

Support for more than 60% of nursing home residents in the U.S.

Without Medicaid, millions of Americans are at risk of going without preventive care, life-saving treatments, critical support services, prenatal care, mental health services and essential prescription medications.

People who suddenly lose coverage will not cease to have medical needs or stop needing health care. But they will be unable to pay for it.

Within our two health systems in Albany and Syracuse, we are conservatively projecting financial losses that could range from $70 million to over $140 million per year.

No health system can withstand that level of devastation; no health care provider can simply “turn on” or “turn off” health care services like mental health or primary care. When these services are lost due to lack of support, they are lost. Our communities will struggle to build them back. This is what is at risk with the legislation now in the Senate. Every person in every community will feel this eventually, not just “people with Medicaid.”

Every state relies on federal Medicaid funding to balance budgets and sustain health care infrastructure; New York is no different. This proposal to cut Medicaid would likely account for the single largest disruption to New York’s budget and economy. According to the Fiscal Policy Institute, $74 billion of the $91 billion in federal funds that New York state receives is tied to Medicaid.

We need thoughtful, comprehensive reform that considers the unique challenges and responsibilities of our already overtaxed, and yes, broken, health care systems, not devastating Medicaid cuts that put everyone at risk. That’s why we urge members of Congress to change course and work together to protect and strengthen Medicaid, and we urge action by everyone to insist for this change.

We must protect people’s access to care to help sustain and strengthen our nation for the long term. The health of our people reflects our nation’s moral priorities. If we value dignity, equity, compassion – not to mention a strong economy and access to care for all — then we must protect Medicaid.