{"id":90576,"date":"2025-07-25T05:35:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T05:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/90576\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T05:35:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T05:35:08","slug":"doing-more-with-less-local-health-care-providers-brace-for-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/90576\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing more with less, local health care providers brace for cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan reduced the\u00a0government\u2019s\u00a0role in health care, including cuts to Medicaid, Whatcom County responded.\u00a0The federal budget cuts\u00a0spawned\u00a0the creation of Interfaith Family Health, which is now Unity Care NW, a health center\u00a0for\u00a0nearly 25,000 patients in Whatcom.<\/p>\n

With the Trump administration taking\u00a0an axe to health care funding\u00a0through the passage of the \u201cbig bill\u201d on\u00a0July 4, some local\u00a0health care\u00a0leaders see an opportunity\u00a0like\u00a0that of the\u00a0\u201880s.<\/p>\n

Others, like Gov. Bob Ferguson, say\u00a0Washington\u2019s\u00a0health care system will be brought\u00a0to the brink because of sweeping cuts to Medicaid.\u00a0To run Apple Health,\u00a0Washington\u2019s\u00a0Medicaid program, the state receives\u00a0about\u00a0$13 billion annually in federal dollars, the largest share of federal funding\u00a0the state\u00a0receives.\u00a0One-fifth of those federal funds \u2014 $3 billion to $5 billion \u2014 are now at risk.\u00a0Washington state will endure nearly $37 billion in federal Medicaid cuts in the next 10 years, according to Congress\u2019s nonpartisan scorekeeper.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The uninsured rate of Washingtonians is likely to more than double from nearly 5% in 2023 due to the legislation, Ferguson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Washington\u2019s\u00a02nd Congressional District, which comprises\u00a0parts of Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties and all of Island and San Juan counties, 34,000 people with health insurance through the Affordable Care Act will see premiums jump by an average of $1,460 a year with 186,000 people at risk of losing Medicaid, according to the\u00a0district\u2019s\u00a0Rep. Rick Larsen.<\/p>\n

While new Medicaid work requirements, cuts to nutrition programs and impacts on medical providers\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0set to\u00a0be felt\u00a0for at least a year, nearly\u00a080,000<\/a>\u00a0Washingtonians are at risk of losing health insurance if Congress allows Biden-era premium subsidies to expire\u00a0on\u00a0Dec. 31, 2025.\u00a0Because of\u00a0this potential fallout, health insurers have requested\u00a0a 21.2% average rate change for Washington\u00a0state\u2019s\u00a02026 Individual Health Insurance Market, which the\u00a0state\u2019s\u00a0Insurance Commissioner is currently considering.<\/p>\n

\"\"Medicaid sign at U.S. Senate Democrats\u2019 press conference in February. (Photo courtesy of Shauneen Miranda\/States Newsroom)<\/p>\n

Changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a>\u00a0(SNAP) \u2014 of which nearly\u00a025,000<\/a>\u00a0Whatcom residents use \u2014 including new work requirements, are already in effect but have yet to be rolled out by states awaiting federal guidance. Beginning Oct. 1, 2026, Washington must cover 25% more of SNAP costs that the federal government will no longer support.<\/p>\n

With varying shares of Medicaid patients, local health providers are bracing for trickle-down impacts that remain cloaked\u00a0in unknowns, delays and possible claw-backs.<\/p>\n

PeaceHealth<\/p>\n

PeaceHealth St. Joseph, Whatcom\u00a0County\u2019s\u00a0only hospital, is\u00a0expecting\u00a0the megabill\u00a0to result in more\u00a0emergency department visits, particularly\u00a0from\u00a0uninsured\u00a0people\u00a0seeking primary care, according to Rep. Larsen, who met with PeaceHealth this month.<\/p>\n

Nearly 20% of the\u00a0hospital\u2019s\u00a0patients\u00a0are covered\u00a0by Medicaid,\u00a0PeaceHealth\u2019s\u00a0spokesperson Amy Drury said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeaceHealth is committed to ensuring that all we serve have access to the very best health care services, regardless of their ability to pay,\u201d\u00a0Drury said in a statement to CDN.<\/p>\n

\"RSVThe PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center emergency entrance. The hospital did not say whether it anticipates staff cuts due to the \u201cbig bill.\u201d (Hailey Hoffman<\/a>\/Cascadia Daily News)<\/p>\n

Regardless of the hit PeaceHealth takes, the organization can do what American healthcare is good at: shift costs around to offset losses by increasing revenues elsewhere, all while attempting to endure minimal damage in the process,\u00a0according to Dr. Marc Pierson, a former PeaceHealth executive. While a possibility, this raises the question of what hit PeaceHealth would have to take, possibly including but not limited to layoffs and service cuts, said Zach Levinson, the project director of the Project on Hospital Costs at KFF, an independent health policy research organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drury did not specify in a statement to CDN whether the hospital, which\u00a0saw\u00a0network-wide layoffs in May<\/a>, expects\u00a0staff reductions due to funding changes, adding that the hospital seeks to\u00a0avoid\u00a0impacts\u00a0to caregivers.<\/p>\n

Pierson, who says\u00a0low- or non-profitable programs could be cut, also anticipates that\u00a0it\u2019ll\u00a0become harder for lower-income people, who will have to wait longer, to access care.<\/p>\n

The megabill included a $50 billion rural health fund, half of which will\u00a0be distributed\u00a0to states. Urban-based hospitals\u00a0such as\u00a0PeaceHealth that serve a notable rural population could receive some of the funds from the state, though\u00a0it remains unclear how states will distribute the yet-to-be-determined amounts, Levinson said.<\/p>\n

Skagit\u00a0Regional\u00a0Health<\/p>\n

Skagit Regional Health, which operates two hospitals and nearly two dozen clinics, received $90 million in Medicaid payments in 2024.\u00a0Medicaid makes up about 17% of the network\u2019s total revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tens of millions of dollars in losses are at stake for Skagit Regional, spokesperson Lourdes Edralin told CDN in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To offset the losses, the safety net health system hopes to raise its operating income by $25 million next year. Women\u2019s health, in-patient mental health and children\u2019s therapy stand to be impacted greatest as a larger share of patients, 72%, 56% and 65%, respectively, use Medicaid.<\/p>\n

The health system has \u201cno plans for immediate across-the-board staff reductions,\u201d Edralin\u00a0said, adding that they\u2019ll take a selective approach to rehiring vacated positions.<\/p>\n

Family Care Network<\/p>\n

With 15 clinics and urgent care centers in Whatcom and Skagit counties, Family Care Network, an independent\u00a0health care\u00a0network, serves\u00a0about\u00a0105,000 patients.\u00a0Although nearly 14% of the\u00a0network\u2019s\u00a0patients are on Medicaid,\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0not expecting any service reductions, layoffs or closure of clinics, a spokesperson told CDN.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Planned Parenthood<\/p>\n

\"\"Protesters wield Planned Parenthood signs at a rally outside the Whatcom County Courthouse in May 2022 following the repeal of Roe v. Wade. Three years later, health care faces a different challenge in funding cuts, but Planned Parenthood does not expect service cuts as a result. (Hailey Hoffman<\/a>\/Cascadia Daily News)<\/p>\n

Planned Parenthood expects no service cuts at its locations in Bellingham, Mount Vernon or Friday Harbor. The three locations provided reproductive health services and other health care to 8,200 patients in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As of\u00a0April 1, Mt. Baker Planned\u00a0Parenthood\u2019s\u00a0three locations merged into Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho (PPGWNI<\/a>). Nearly 50% of\u00a0those\u00a0patients use Medicaid, meaning roughly 30% of its revenue comes from Medicaid, according to Eowyn Savela, Vice President of Public Affairs for PPGWNI.<\/p>\n

Unity Care NW<\/p>\n

In addition to Sea Mar \u2014 which did not respond to requests for comment \u2014 Unity Care NW is the only Federally Qualified Community Health Center (FQHC) in Whatcom County, meaning it guarantees care regardless of income or insurance.<\/p>\n

The network\u00a0is\u00a0not\u00a0expecting\u00a0any service or staff cuts across its services, from medical and dental to pharmacy and behavioral health. Rather, Unity Care expects to have to do more with less, CEO Jodi Joyce told CDN.\u00a0With nearly two-thirds of their patients on Medicaid, Unity Care will continue to serve anyone.<\/p>\n

Joyce \u2014 who is hopeful this moment of threats to health care could spark an \u201880s-era opportunity \u2014 said she expects the\u00a0network\u2019s\u00a0demand to rise and is even considering repurposing an outreach team that helped sign up patients for health insurance following the passage of the ACA\u00a0to now\u00a0help\u00a0patients\u00a0complete\u00a0looming work requirements.<\/p>\n

Owen Racer is a Report for America<\/a> corps member who covers health care and public health in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Reach him at owenracer@cascadiadaily.com<\/a>; 360-922-3090 ext. 101. Learn more and donate at cascadiadaily.com\/rfa<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan reduced the\u00a0government\u2019s\u00a0role in health care, including cuts to Medicaid, Whatcom County responded.\u00a0The…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":90577,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[210,1141,1142,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-90576","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114912252624286493","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}