Administrators at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center are sounding the alarm about impending Medicaid cuts.
On Friday, April 4, Connecticut Children’s hosted a press conference at its Hartford Center, along with Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Norwich, Enfield), Rep. John Larson (D-Hartford, Litchfield) and Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves. The event took place in the morning, just hours before the national Senate was set to debate the proposed budget.
“Medicaid is the foundation of children’s health care in America. The reality is clear, if these proposed cuts take effect, hospitals like Connecticut Children’s will face severe financial strife,” said President and CEO James Shmerling. “Families will struggle to access care and the most vulnerable among us: newborns, children with complex medical needs and those from underserved communities will be left without critical support.”
Connecticut Children’s is the second largest children’s hospital in the state and is ranked the third best hospital for pediatric specialties in the country. The Connecticut Children’s system, which has more than 40 locations in Connecticut, Western Massachusetts and Eastern New York, and is headquartered in Hartford, treats more than 130,000 children a year.
“Unlike adult hospitals, where we see both Medicaid and Medicare funding, we really, solely depend on Medicaid,” Shmerling said.
Medicaid reimbursement rates are lower than Medicare. This year, there were several proposed bills to raise the Medicaid reimbursement rate, which many people argued would lower health care costs for the entire state, by increasing preventative care and, as a result, decreasing emergency visits.
For years, health care workers and advocates have been calling for higher reimbursement rates, arguing that they would increase both the number of health care workers treating Medicaid patients and increase the financial viability of health care institutions.
Statewide, one in three children has a Husky Health plan, and 40% of births are covered by Husky Health.
More than a quarter of mothers giving birth at Connecticut Children’s Hartford center rely on Medicaid, according to the Chief of the Division of Neonatology Dr. Jeffrey Shenberger. He also claimed 60 cents out of every dollar spent on care in the Connecticut Children’s system came from Medicaid last year.
“We should make no mistake, that when we talk about cuts to [Medicaid], that it’s going to affect all the children at Connect Children’s, not just those who are being sponsored n Medicaid themselves,” Shenberger said.
In February, the House of Representatives approved a budget that called for a $1.7 trillion cut in net spending and a $4.5 trillion cut in taxes by 2034. If approved, this plan would increase the deficit by $2.8 trillion over that time period.
“There’s only one place for them to go to find that much money and the Congressional budget office that has already issued a report that says that in black and white, and it’s Medicaid,” Courtney said. “There’s no question that what happens tonight is just another step forward in this process. We’ve just got to turn it off.”
In fiscal year 2024, Connecticut was appropriated $6.6 billion from the federal government for Medicaid and Medicare. Appropriations from the federal government cover more than half of the state’s Medicaid costs.
“There’s all kinds of ideas swirling around about how they would implement that (budget)—they’re all bad,” Courtney said. “There’s just no question that the collateral damage that would happen if that would go into effect, it would put the Department of Social Services and the General Assembly in an impossible decision. It’s like Sophie’s Choice: Who gets help here? There’s no question that every program, particularly children, who are such a high percent of the patient population, would be negatively impacted.”
Once the Senate approves its own budget proposal, it will work with the House of Representatives to reconcile the two proposals.
Courtney claims that the Republicans did not consult a single Democrat when putting together the proposed budget. Although Republicans outnumber Democrats by 220 to 2015 this session the House’s budget only passed by a margin of two votes.
“After tonight… this process has many more steps to go,” Courtney said. “This is going to go through to the summer and the drum beat has just got to continue as loudly and clearly.”
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Please do an article that explains exactly how Medicaid works between the Feds and CT and CT and providers. Provide context by highlighting the budgets since ACA enacted. Finally, we need to hear from critics of how CT manages Medicaid and not just providers who profit from it. The goal is the same for everyone in that we want healthcare subsidized for those who need help and we may differ in how that is achieved.