Congress is considering massive cuts to Medicaid that could devastate healthcare providers. Hospitals in Vermont would see a $1.5 billion reduction in spending over the next decade under the budget reconciliation proposal passed by the House of Representatives that the Senate is now considering, according to a new analysis from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute.
At the same time, Vermont hospitals will be hit with a $200 million increase in uncompensated care—or care that they are required to provide to people without insurance but are not paid for. When you combine the projected spending cuts with the increase in uncompensated care, Vermont hospitals could see a $1.7 billion financial hit from this bill over the next decade.
Analysts say this double burden of decreased spending and increased demand for uncompensated care could force some hospitals to close their doors and hurt access to care for entire communities.
Overall, the budget reconciliation bill would reduce healthcare spending in the U.S. by $797 billion over the next decade, with more than one-third (36%) of the cuts occurring in California, Florida, Texas, and New York, the new analysis shows. Drops in medical spending would run more than $20 billion in nine additional states (Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington).
Prepared by the Urban Institute with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the analysis finds that hospitals would face an overall cut of $321 billion in spending from reconciliation, while physicians would face an $81 billion cut. Spending on prescription drugs would decline by $191 billion from 2025 to 2034.
At the same time, U.S. hospitals would face a $63 billion increase in uncompensated care over the next decade—services sought by the uninsured that hospitals and other providers are required to deliver but are not reimbursed.
Some experts say costs of uncompensated care are ultimately passed on to insured patients through higher healthcare prices.
“The Medicaid cuts Congress is considering would be the largest funding reduction in the program’s history, and it is hard to overstate just how devastating the impacts would be,” said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Such drastic changes to Medicaid financing would have ripple effects that go well beyond people covered by the program, further squeezing hospitals, limiting access to care for entire communities, and destabilizing state and local economies.”
“As Congress considers significant cuts to the Medicaid program and ACA Marketplaces, this analysis can help state and local policymakers and stakeholders consider the potential adverse effects on healthcare coverage, access, and affordability, and the financial vulnerability of certain providers in their state,” said Fredric Blavin, senior fellow at the Urban Institute.
