Congress, Trump face vocal defenders of Medicaid: Catholic hospitals

Hospitals and healthcare advocacy groups have been urging President Trump’s administration and Congress to preserve funding for Medicaid.

Catholic hospitals are pushing to preserve funding for Medicaid. From left, Sister Mary Haddad, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association; Erik Wexler, president and CEO of Providence; and Damond W. Boatwright, president and CEO of the Hospital Sisters Health System.

Health systems have been dreading the prospect of cuts to Medicaid for months, and with Congress going to work on a federal budget, they are raising the alarm.

Nonprofit hospitals and for-profit hospitals alike have warned that cuts in Medicaid would leave more people unable to pay for coverage. They also warn that Medicaid cuts could deliver a body blow to safety net hospitals and rural hospitals.

But Catholic hospital leaders are providing some of the most passionate and vocal calls in defense of the Medicaid program.

The Catholic Health Association released a host of statements from Catholic healthcare leaders last week urging the administration and lawmakers to preserve funding for Medicaid.

Sister Mary Haddad, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, appealed to lawmakers to protect those in need.

“We urge lawmakers to champion policies rooted in compassion and dignity—because when we protect our most vulnerable, we create a healthier, stronger society for everyone,” Haddad said in a statement.

• Read more: After Trump’s first 100 days, healthcare groups push against more cuts

Erik Wexler, president and CEO of Providence, which operates 51 hospitals and 1,000 clinics, said he understands the necessity of finding savings in healthcare spending.

“But slashing Medicaid, as some leaders are proposing, is not the answer,” Wexler said in a statement. “In fact, we believe strongly that doing so would have dire consequences that would put the nation’s health at risk. As people lose access to coverage, care will be delayed, access to vital services will be restricted and costs will rise. This will disproportionately affect patients in rural areas."

Damond W. Boatwright, president and CEO of the Hospital Sisters Health System, has been a vocal defender of Medicaid. In an op-ed he wrote in March, Boatwright noted that Medicaid provides critical support for rural hospitals, including the 13 HSHS hospitals serving smaller communities in Illinois and Wisconsin. Medicaid accounts for about a quarter (24%) of inpatient hospital admissions of Illinois hospitals, he noted.

If Congress moves on proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, Boatwright wrote in the op-ed, “States would be forced to dramatically scale back their Medicaid programs, hurting enrollees and impacting practically every hospital across the country – including those HSHS operates.”

• Read more: Hospitals face growing financial headwinds, amid fears of less federal aid

House Republicans have released a budget blueprint that, if enacted, would likely mean significant cuts to Medicaid programs.

The House GOP calls for the House Energy and Commerce cutting $880 billion, and that’s the committee overseeing Medicaid spending. Analysts such as KFF have said it’s virtually impossible to reach that target without reducing Medicaid funding or changing eligibility.

Any substantial cuts to Medicaid would threaten the financial recovery of nonprofit hospitals, and many are still struggling to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, Fitch Ratings says.

Trump has said he won’t cut Medicaid services, but his administration has also expressed willingness to allow states to refine who is eligible for assistance in the federal-state program, and analysts say that would mean fewer people would have coverage.

Eduardo Conrado, president of the Ascension health system, calls Medicaid “a lifeline for millions of people.”

“Proposed cuts would limit access to care and place even greater strain on nonprofit hospitals like Ascension, which already care for many patients with little or no reimbursement. We care for everyone who comes through our doors,” Conrado said in a statement. “We’re asking lawmakers to do the same by preserving access to affordable care."

The Catholic Health Association is also making the case to lawmakers that Americans back Medicaid.

The association points to a poll that find 88% support Medicaid, and 57% oppose cutting Medicaid money to states. The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, a Catholic system operating the hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi, financed the poll, which was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates.

Pollster Jim McLaughlin said in a statement, “Voters clearly want Congress not only to protect Medicaid, but they will reward those who strengthen Medicaid and increase benefits to patients.”