Many Coloradans will be affected when a new presidential administration takes office next month in Washington, DC. A panel of health leaders from several key groups, along with a state lawmaker, told an audience in a Denver Health auditorium Tuesday that they are watching and getting ready.
Jeff Tieman, President and CEO of Colorado Hospital Associationinvoked a sports metaphor. Like Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, looking for a receiver, moving away from defenders, he couldn’t see the whole field. Tieman also said he didn’t have a good idea of what was going to happen.
“I would say we are in a time of unprecedented uncertainty,” Tieman said. “We face some pretty serious political headwinds. »
One of the biggest issues concerns Medicaid, the program that helps cover medical costs for low-income people. Donald Trump, the former and future president, has promised further tax cuts. Medicaid cuts could help pay for them.
“I fear that Medicaid, at the federal level, is under attack,” Ross Brooks, CEO of the Colorado Community Health Network.
He noted more than half a million Coloradans I lost this confidence after a post-pandemic federal policy change. State Rep. Kyle Brown, a Louisville Democrat, said more than half of the state’s Medicaid budget comes from the federal government.
And the state is already facing a serious budget crisis, so it would be difficult to replace “$7, $8, $9 billion if they decided to turn off that spigot tomorrow,” Brown said. “So we need to continue to work with our federal delegation to protect that.” »
Panelists said blue states will need to work with red states on the issue, as well as the future of Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Dr. Kim Warner of the Colorado Medical Society, the state’s largest doctors’ organization, and an obstetrician-gynecologist, said she would closely monitor whether restrictions on reproductive rights are implemented.
“Access to birth control, access to prenatal care, access to fertility treatments,” Warner said, adding that it is important for the health care system to “really shine a light on maternal morbidity and mortality.”
Other concerns raised during the panel included how many privacy protections would remain for LGBTQ+ and immigrant patients.
Legislator Kyle Brown expressed another concern that public health could be eroded if confidence in or funding for life-saving vaccines was compromised. “We cannot promote a healthy lifestyle if children are dying from polio,” he said. “We must, as Coloradans, come together and fight a culture of misinformation and conspiracy theories that could fuel a public health crisis in Colorado and across the country.”
He also highlighted the importance of gender-affirming care, following a question from the audience. Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne said the hospital provides it.
“We must continue to protect access to gender-affirming care in Colorado,” Brown said. “Just as we protect access to reproductive health care and many other types of health care, Colorado has become a beacon for many communities, including the LGBTQ community seeking lifesaving care.”
Jeff Tieman, the head of the hospital association, said he expects intense financial pressures across the health care system. For example, about seven in 10 hospitals in Colorado have a low, flat or negative operating margin, he said.
He reminded the audience that the pandemic has taught the importance of working together.
“I think we will find our way over the next period,” he said. “And it’s going to be really important that we stay united.”