Cantwell: H.R. 1 Healthcare Cuts “Driving Up The Cost on All of Us”

10.20.26 Cantwell: H.R. 1 Healthcare Cuts “Driving Up The Cost on All of Us” NEW Report: WA hospitals facing $5.8 billion in lost revenue b/c of Republican healthcare cuts; all Washingtonians will feel the pain in the form of higher prices, longer ER wait times, and reduced services SEATTLE, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, joined local healthcare leaders and Diana, a stage 4 cancer patient from Lynnwood, to detail how Washingtonians will face higher healthcare costs and reduced services because of cuts to Medicaid passed as part of H.R. 1, (a.k.a. the “One Big Beautiful Bill”). At the event, Sen. Cantwell released a report containing exclusive new data from the Washington State Hospital Association and the Washington Association for Community Health detailing the crushing financial losses expected to result from provisions in Trump’s H.R. 1 set to kick in on Jan. 1, 2027, that will kick more than 200,000 Washingtonians off their health insurance. Washington’s hospitals expect to lose $5.8 billion in revenue by 2033 and community health centers expect to lose $118 million next year alone. All because of H.R. 1’s Medicaid cuts. "If you have private insurance, you can expect to see higher premiums because of these cuts," said Sen. Cantwell. " Already, healthcare costs for employer-sponsored insurance are set to rise at least 8.2 percent next year, and 22.2 percent for Washingtonians on the marketplace. So we all know this: When you drive down the cost of uncompensated care, you help keep healthcare costs in check. When you don't do that, you are literally driving up the cost on all of us. When hospitals are left to absorb these losses they have to make difficult decisions. Services will be cut. Hospitals will be closed." At the event, healthcare leaders and doctors explained how these cuts will result in higher costs, longer emergency room wait times, and reduced healthcare services for ALL Washingtonians – even if they have the best health insurance possible. Hospital ERs and Community Health Centers are required by federal law to treat patients, regardless of their ability to pay. Sommer Kleweno Walley, CEO of Harborview Medical Center, said that because of the cuts, Harborview will lose over $260 million in current revenue and coverage of up to $400 million in lost reimbursement by 2028 – 22% of the facility’s budget. “When you take hundreds of millions of dollars away from safety net hospitals like Harborview, you are not just putting care for Medicaid patients and uninsured patients at risk,” Kleweno Walley said. “You are putting Harborview's ability to serve our entire community at risk.” Mike Glenn, CEO of Jefferson Healthcare -- which operates a hospital in Port Townsend -- noted that small, rural hospitals like theirs will feel even more harm. “Rural communities tend to be older and poorer communities than urban communities and more dependent on public payers like Medicare and Medicaid,” Glenn said. “At Jefferson for instance we are bracing for 1,000-2,000 residents losing access to Medicaid, a $6-8 million reduction in top-line revenue, and a $1-1.5 million increase in uncompensated care. In fact we are already seeing our uncompensated care number climbing, which we attribute to the reduction of insurance premium subsidies, forcing patients to abandon their coverage.” “When a patient loses insurance their need for healthcare doesn't just disappear,” said Lisa Yohalem, CEO of HealthPoint Community Health Centers. “However, the reimbursement that supports that care does.” Dr. Marie Vrablik, Medical Director of the Emergency Department at UW Medical Center – Montlake, noted that they are starting to see these impacts now, with a steep increase in emergency room patients in the last few months. “These cuts will not impact only folks who are covered by Medicaid, they'll impact all of us,” Dr. Vrablik said. “They'll impact any person waiting in an emergency department waiting room. Because as the ED fills up with patients needing acute unscheduled care, we'll all wait longer, our patients will get sicker, and our situation will only worsen.” Dr. Lauren Whiteside, an Emergency Medicine physician at Harborview Medical Center, told the story of a patient who was admitted after his second fentanyl overdose in a week, started treatment, and was subsequently able to stay clean and find permanent housing. "This is what access to care can do,” said Dr. Whiteside. “The decisions we make about Medicaid and healthcare access are not abstract policy decisions. They shape when and how people get treatment." Diana, a Stage 4 cancer patient living in Lynnwood, gave remarks via video: “I don't think there's a single chance that I would be alive today to talk to you if it hadn't been for Medicaid in Washington state. I cannot physically do the work requirements. Right now, I'm still shaking ... because I had chemotherapy yesterday. You might think 'I've got it made, I don't need Medicaid.' You are one accident, one gene that goes wrong away from no longer being able to handle your job and being unemployed and having to apply for Medicaid.” Video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks is HERE , photos are HERE , and a transcript of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks is HERE . Print Email Tweet Previous Article