Press Release
Posted:
Napa, CA – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and the Napa Solano Medical Society held a roundtable discussion at Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center with patients, providers, clinicians and hospital administrators to discuss how residents of Napa and surrounding areas will be impacted by the President and Congressional Republicans’ newly enacted H.R. 1, which cut health care coverage for 15 million Americans. Reporting shows that these deep cuts to Medi-Cal put local hospitals and clinics at risk of reducing services or shutting down altogether.
“Every single Californian should be concerned by this law. One in three Californians rely on Medi-Cal, which means one-third of health care in California is paid for through Medi-Cal. At best, without this funding, hospitals will be forced to cut back on services, fire specialists, and reduce staff. At worst, hospitals will shut down altogether. Even if you have private insurance or all the money in the world to pay for care, if your nearest hospital has been forced to reduce its services or shut down, you won’t get the treatment you need,” said Thompson.
“If that weren’t enough, this administration has just capped student loan borrowing for medical students and slashed biomedical research funding. This means fewer new doctors, fewer new treatments for diseases, and tighter margins for providers. This is a race to the bottom — and our community is paying the price.”
On July 4, the president signed into law H.R. 1, legislation that cuts health care coverage for 15 million Americans across the United States.
In addition, the bill cuts funding to hospitals by limiting the payments that state Medicaid programs can make to hospitals, long-term care providers, and many other cash-strapped providers so they can stay in business and provide the services residents need. The bill also cuts off a state’s ability to generate the funds they need to support their Medicaid programs—including payments to struggling hospitals—through a provider tax.
Local advocacy groups like Napa-Solano Medical Society, and local hospitals like Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center, warn that these effects will be drastic and devastating.
“These are our farmworkers, our children, our neighbors with chronic illness, our seniors in long-term care, and our patients with mental health and substance use needs,” said Dr. Richard Chou, President of the Napa Solano Medical Society, and a US Armed Services Veteran. “In Napa and Solano counties combined, we have tens of thousands of residents who rely on Medi-Cal for their health care. Because of this law, we estimate that 15 to 25 percent of those residents could lose their coverage or access to services. That’s tens of thousands of people, in just these two counties, losing access to the care they depend on.”