SPOKANE, Wash. – Senator Maria Cantwell has voiced her opposition to a draft congressional budget proposing cuts of around $800 billion from Medicaid. She recently held a press conference with local leaders from red states, which was attended by NonStop Local News.
Senator Cantwell highlighted the potential impact on Spokane, stating, “Obviously, we have a very high Medicaid-Medicare population in the city of Spokane… lose any of those services.”
The senator emphasized that more than 300,000 Washingtonians could lose health care coverage needed for regular check-ups, behavioral health care, urgent care, and more if the pending reconciliation bill passes in the U.S. Senate and is signed into law.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson also addressed the issue in a press conference in the Tri-Cities area. He discussed the significant impacts the cuts would have on the state budget, as they would need to find ways to offset reductions in federal funding. “If, for example, the Senate version… which would cut about 3 billion dollars over four years to Medicaid… We don’t have 3 billion dollars lying around to put it very mildly. That doesn’t exist. So there would be no way to avoid drastic cuts to individuals in our state,” Ferguson said.
According to the governor’s office, Washington State spends $21 billion annually on Medicaid, with $13 billion coming from federal funding.
