A lose-lose scenario

Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens would suffer under the proposed health care law

Children. Pregnant women. Pennsylvanians with disabilities. Older Pennsylvanians. All of them are vulnerable citizens with specific health care needs, and all are covered by Medicaid. However, should the proposed American Health Care Act become law, we can expect these Pennsylvanians to suffer greatly and face insurmountable difficulties getting the services they need — let alone pay for them.

These are the consequences of severing the historical federal-state partnership of Medicaid funding, which is what the AHCA proposes to do. Under the bill, more than 24 million Americans are expected to lose health coverage, 14 million from Medicaid alone.

Not surprisingly, the Congressional Budget Office gave the AHCA a score reflective of the effect it would have on millions of Americans. In Pennsylvania, Medicaid covers more than 2.8 million individuals, and 1.2 million of them are children.

Cutting federal funding would mean less money to provide life-saving care to children, as well as important services such as screenings, immunizations, checkups, and hospital stays.

These are kids from lowincome families whose parents work two or more jobs, kids with special needs like autism and Down syndrome, and kids who have no other option for affordable health insurance and are at risk of losing the care they need. No matter how Congress spins it, when Medicaid funding is cut, children lose.

Federal funding cuts to Medicaid also would have consequences for pediatricians, hospitals, and other doctors who care for kids. Pennsylvania’s children’s hospitals, including Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, often provide care for kids with serious medical conditions — who are either the sickest among us or who require very specialized care.

The more than 1,000 care providers across 60 facilities in the Children’s Hospital network have the expertise and training necessary to take care of the unique needs of over 1 million children who come through our doors each year.

Key partners in delivering those services are the 2,200 members of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who serve hundreds of thousands of children each year, keeping them healthy, preventing diseases and treating serious health care conditions that can compromise child development.

Medicaid coverage ensures that those doors can stay open by paying for the services we provide and preventing uncompensated care costs from being passed to taxpayers.

Year after year, Pennsylvania experiences a budget deficit, and this year is no different, as the deficit is currently about

$3 billion. So, in addition to creating barriers to health care for children, the proposed cuts to Medicaid would put the state’s fiscal viability in even deeper peril than it is now.

Today, Pennsylvania receives more than $15 billion in federal funding to help cover children, the elderly and people with disabilities who all rely on Medicaid for their health care needs. It’s the largest source of federal funding coming into our state, helping to make our state dollars go further in covering the most vulnerable among us.

Federal funding also allows our state to devote precious state dollars to other priorities like public safety and education, so Medicaid funding cuts will be felt by all of us, not just those losing health coverage.

Under the AHCA, Pennsylvania would be at risk if costs for health care services grow more than the base cost plus any inflationary factor.

As new treatments arise that may cost more in the short term but save money in the long term, the state would have to decide whether to fund the treatment. Furthermore, the state’s emergency response to additional treatments required to combat a public health crisis or outbreak would be substantially reduced.

The state has reached an all-time high of 96 percent of children covered by health insurance, which means more kids can get the health care they need to succeed in school and be part of a productive workforce down the road. We need to continue the progress we’ve made and cannot afford to go backwards.

Federal policymakers should think long and hard about the devastation that is sure to come should they pass the AHCA, because nobody wins under this proposal. There are too many losers and too many scenarios that will compromise the health of Pennsylvanians.