The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) advocacy team monitors healthcare related legislation, rule changes, and legislative updates for Ohio’s family physicians.
To access the OAFP Bill Tracker, visit the OAFP Public Policy webpage and click on the Bill Tracker icon.
Read on for this week’s updates and contact Advocacy Coordinator Kaela Springhetti with questions or for ways to get involved.
The Most Likely Medicaid Cuts Would Hit Rural Areas the Hardest
Source: The Ohio Capital Journal
Working-age adults who live in small towns and rural areas are more likely to be covered by Medicaid than their counterparts in cities, creating a dilemma for Republicans looking to make deep cuts to the health care program.
About 72 million people — nearly 1 in 5 people in the United States — are enrolled in Medicaid, which provides healthcare coverage to low-income and disabled people and is jointly funded by the federal government and the states. Black, Hispanic, and Native people are disproportionately represented on the rolls, and more than half of Medicaid recipients are people of color.
Nationwide, 18.3% of adults who are between the ages of 19 and 64 and live in small towns and rural areas are enrolled, compared with 16.3% in metro areas, according to a recent analysis by the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University.
In 15 states, at least a fifth of working-age adults in small towns and rural areas are covered by Medicaid, and in two of those states — Arizona and New York — more than a third are. Eight of the 15 states voted for President Donald Trump.
Twenty-six Republicans in the U.S. House represent districts where Medicaid covers more than 30% of the population, according to a recent analysis by The New York Times. Many of those districts have significant rural populations, including House Speaker Mike Johnson’s 4th Congressional District in Louisiana.
Republican U.S. Representative David Valadao of California, whose Central Valley district is more than two-thirds Hispanic and where 68% of the residents are enrolled in Medicaid, has spoken out against potential cuts.
“I’ve heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way they can afford healthcare is through programs like Medicaid, and I will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them behind,” Rep. Valadao said to House members in a recent floor speech.
U.S. House Republicans are trying to reduce the federal budget by $2 trillion as they seek $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. GOP leaders have directed the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid and Medicare, to find $880 billion in savings.
Read the full article at The Ohio Capital Journal.