Virginia-Western health care defenders claim that proposals to reduce billions of federal funding for Medicaid would close rural hospitals and aggravate the “crises” of maternal and nourishing health care, among others.
Protect Our Care, a national non-profit organization aimed at protecting health care for Americans, organized the press conference on Friday with representatives of Western Virginians for affordable care and Planned Parenthood.
According to KFF health policies research organizationRepublicans of the American House of Representatives are considering political changes to reduce the Federal Medicaid budget by 2.3 billions of dollars. The proposals include the creation of Medicaid A program of subsidies in block, the reduction of federal correspondence amounts, the establishment of ceilings on the amount of expenditure per person and the imposition of work requirements for the health care program .
“These proposals would blow around 235 million dollars in the state budget of Virginia-Western and leave tens of thousands of uninsured people,” said Ellen Allen, executive director of West Virginians for care on Friday affordable health.
In OctoberMore than 472,000 Virginians-Western are registered in Medicaid. The joint program of state and federal health care covers 72 million Americans. The federal government is currently paying approximately 74% of state spending in Medicaid, According to Kff.
Drew Galang, spokesperson for the Governor of Virginia-Western, Patrick Morrisey, said on Friday that the governor was still examining the state budgetary articles, Who, he said, faces a deficit of $ 400 millionAnd has not described any specific proposal.
Medicaid helps finance rural hospitals in Virginia-Western, said Allen, helping to make sure that patients can pay for their care. Rural hospitals of states that have expanded their Medicaid programs under the affordable care law are less likely to close, she said. If the congress reduces the expansion of Medicaid, more rural hospitals will be forced to close, she said.
“Avoiding Medicaid will distance the health care of hardworking families through Virginia-Western, instead of helping them,” said Allen. “They deserve better. We deserve better. It is in our power to do so. »»
Kaylen Payne, analyst of health policies for Planned Parenthood, said that if the funding of Medicaid was cut, the already bad results of Virginia-Western in maternal health care and fed, and pregnant and newborns in would suffer.
“Half of the Counties of Virginia-Western are currently lacking appropriate maternal and infant health care, with whole counties without birth hospitals,” she said. “The State’s Laws Have Made the Reproductive Health Care Desert, Facing the People of this State Worse, with doctors Fleeing in Fear of Losing Their Life for Providing Life Saving Care to their patients, thesese Laws Increase The Rates of Materal and Infant Mortality Disproportately Impacting minority communities. »»
In 2024, the organization of non -profit maternal care March of Dimes gave Virginia-Western a “F” note and classified 50 of the 50 states for its number of premature births. More than 13% of the birth of the state was preliminary in 2023, a rate that has increased in the last 10 years and is higher than the national average of 10.4%.
The minority population of Virginia-Western is particularly affected by poor results of maternal and childhood health. Black babies are 1.3 times more likely than others to be born premature, According to the march of the ten sous.
If the funding of Medicaid is cut, “a problem deteriorated already quickly will become without less than catastrophic,” said Payne. “Mortal prenatal diseases such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes will go unnoticed and maternal and infantile mortality rates will skyrocket.”
Lynette Maselli, director of the state of Protect Our Care, described Medicaid as “rescue buoy”.
“He kept people employed and open rural hospitals, as well as stimulating state budgets,” she said. “But the Republicans continue to target Medicaid for deep cuts in order to finance tax alleviation for millionaires. As a result, families, children and the elderly will not be able to see a doctor when they need it. If the GOP is making its way, millions of Americans will lose the coverage of the essential health care they need to stay healthy. »»
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