NEW DATA: Over 300,000 Washingtonians Would Lose Health Coverage If Trump’s Budget Bill Passes
Central and Eastern WA hit the hardest; The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Big, Beautiful” bill 215-214 in May; legislation now being considered in the Senate
EDMONDS, WA – Data released by the Joint Economic Committee minority staff breaks down, by state and congressional district, how many Americans would lose health care coverage losses due to President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, announced today.
In total, 16 million Americans – including 306,312 Washingtonians – will lose the health care coverage they need to get regular check-ups, behavioral health care, family planning services, long-term care, urgent care, and more if the Republican bill passes the U.S. Senate and is signed into law.
|
Congressional District |
Est. # of People Losing Affordable Care Act Coverage |
Est. # of People Losing Medicaid Coverage |
Est. Total # of People Losing Health Coverage |
|
WA-01 |
11,500 |
11,638 |
23,138 |
|
WA-02 |
13,500 |
20,155 |
33,655 |
|
WA-03 |
10,000 |
21,654 |
31,654 |
|
WA-04 |
8,400 |
31,693 |
40,093 |
|
WA-05 |
11,500 |
24,934 |
36,434 |
|
WA-06 |
10,000 |
20,288 |
30,288 |
|
WA-07 |
13,500 |
10,458 |
23,958 |
|
WA-08 |
10,000 |
13,572 |
23,572 |
|
WA-09 |
11,500 |
22,069 |
33,569 |
|
WA-10 |
8,400 |
21,589 |
29,989 |
According to the analysis, Washington’s Fifth Congressional District, covering Eastern Washington, would see the most people lose health insurance under the Republican plan of any district in the state. More than 40,000 Eastern Washingtonians in the Fifth District alone won’t be able to get affordable health care if the Republican plan passes.
Washington’s Fourth Congressional District, covering most of Central Washington, would see the second-most people lose health insurance under the Republican plan of any district in the state. More than 35,000 Eastern Washingtonians in the Fourth District alone won’t be able to get affordable health care if the Republican plan passes.
People without health insurance tend to wait until their health problem is an emergency before seeking care in local hospitals. This leads to more crowded emergency rooms for everyone.
And hospitals must factor the uncompensated cost of additional uninsured patients into already strained finances – finances which are especially strained at rural hospitals like those in the Fourth and Fifth Districts.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published its updated analysis, available here, after House Republicans passed their budget reconciliation bill with over $700 billion in cuts and significant changes to Medicaid. The Committee fact sheet, available here, provides updated estimates for all 50 states and D.C. of the estimated number of people losing their health insurance. The Committee data broken down by Congressional District is available here. Totals by congressional district and by state are slightly different due to rounding.
Medicaid, known as Apple Health in Washington state, covers over 1.9 million Washingtonians. Sen. Cantwell has held events across the state to hear about the impact of the proposed cuts on Washingtonians and released three reports detailing the cuts’ significant negative impacts. On May 2, Sen. Cantwell released a snapshot report highlighting the impact that Medicaid cuts would have on Washington state's highly-ranked long-term care system for seniors and people with disabilities. In February, she released a snapshot report that demonstrated how cuts would harm health care access in Washington state, and she followed up with a report in March that dove into impacts on the Puget Sound region.
Highlights of those snapshot reports include:
- In Washington state, WA-04 (Central Washington) and WA-05 (Eastern Washington) have the highest proportions of adults and total population on Medicaid (Apple Health). In District 4, 70% of children are on Medicaid.
- In the Puget Sound region, children in Seattle's blue-collar strongholds would feel the deepest pain from Medicaid cuts. More than half of children in Burien, SeaTac, Kent, Federal Way, Auburn, Renton, and Rainier Valley depend on Medicaid.
- In an exclusive survey of 68 WA nursing homes, 67 of 68 would cut services if Medicaid were cut by 5% or more, and 65% would consider closing.
Sen. Cantwell also toured the state to hear from folks who would be directly impacted by cuts to Medicare. Doctors, patients, and health care providers in Seattle, Spokane, the Tri-Cities, and Wenatchee warned that such cuts would devastate Washington state’s health care system and limit access to lifesaving care.
On May 21, Sen. Cantwell joined Washington state health care professionals for a virtual press conference to highlight statewide alarm and opposition to proposed Medicaid cuts. That same day, 23 Republican members of the Washington state legislature sent a letter to the entire Washington state federal Congressional delegation, urging the delegation to “protect Medicaid funding for Washington State.”
A full timeline of Sen. Cantwell’s actions to defend Medicaid from cuts is HERE.
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