Proposed Medicaid cuts could devastate DC hospitals and clinics

Proposed Medicaid funding cuts could severely impact DC hospitals and community health clinics, threatening care for the city’s lowest-income residents, the Washington Business Journal reports.

With President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans pursuing $2 trillion in federal budget reductions, the House has advanced a resolution that could slash Medicaid spending by $880 billion over a decade. One potential outcome: reducing D.C.’s Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) from 70 percent to the federal minimum of 50 percent, forcing hospitals to absorb hundreds of millions in lost revenue.

DC Hospital Association President Jacqueline Bowens warned that such cuts would be “crippling to the entire city.” Howard University Hospital, where 40 percent of patients are on Medicaid, could lose $33 million annually, according to its president, Dr. Roger Mitchell. Children's National Hospital, where more than half of patients rely on Medicaid, could also suffer deeply.

Community health clinics, such as Unity Health Care and Community of Hope, would be hit hard, with tens of thousands of low-income residents potentially losing coverage. “The proposed cuts threaten to decimate the health care ecosystem in DC,” said Kelly Sweeney McShane, CEO of Community of Hope.