'Troubling, Disturbing and Potentially Devastating:' Sears Praises Trump Tax Bill That Will Devastate Virginia Hospitals

Sears: “The bill as you know now does so many great things”

Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association: “We see this [bill] as troubling, disturbing and potentially devastating”

VIRGINIA - As Winsome Earle-Sears praises Trump tax bill saying it “does so many great things,” health care experts anticipate the cuts to Medicaid will quake Virginia hospitals and lead to increased healthcare costs for Virginians.

The Virginian-Pilot: Big Beautiful Bill cuts to Medicaid will quake Virginia hospitals, health care experts say

• Experts are warning that cuts the One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes to Medicaid pose a significant threat to rural hospitals, but hospitals across Virginia are bracing for the impact.
• Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, for example, projects a loss of more than $20 million as a result of the cuts.
• “While the fiscal impact on our organization is significant, the greater travesty lies in what this means for our patients, particularly the more than 15% who rely on Medicaid,” said Reese Jackson, president and CEO.
• “We see this as troubling, disturbing and potentially devastating. This is funding that helps hospitals sustain their operations, support patient access to care, strengthen the state and local economy, and provide employment across Virginia.” [said Julian Walker, vice president of communications with the VHHA]
• Under a lower provider tax, the question becomes “How do hospitals make up the deficit?” said Larry Clark, an internist in Alexandria, at a news conference held last week in Richmond to discuss the cuts.
• “Are they going to cut the services? Are they going to cut the first things that usually get cut, your critical care units in the emergency room?” Clark said.
• Democrat politicians and advocates held the news conference Thursday to discuss the impacts of the cuts.
• “I helped expand Medicaid in Virginia,” said Rep. Jen McClellan, who represents Richmond and its surrounding counties. “One of the reasons that several Republican lawmakers got on board was that they knew how expanding Medicaid would help our rural hospitals …The new law, the big, ugly bill will now restrict hospitals’ ability to fund Medicaid and get reimbursed for the services they provide to Medicaid patients.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia hospitals face big income cuts from Trump's bill

• Virginia hospitals and doctors face big cuts in income under President Donald Trump’s tax and budget bill while Virginians with Obamacare coverage could see big premium increases if a Biden-era tax credit goes away, state officials say.
• The hundreds of thousands of Virginians who use the credits to hold down the costs of their Affordable Care Act coverage could see monthly bills next year jump by 30% to 50%, said Keven Patchett, director of the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange, the state-run marketplace that connects Virginians with insurers offering coverage.
• Financial losses have in the past led some hospitals to cut obstetrics services. To make sure there are support services that allow people with disabilities to live independently outside of institutions or nursing homes, the General Assembly has had to boost Medicaid fees for these.
• State Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, said the tax and budget bill’s directive to cap Medicaid payments at Medicare rates means hospitals could cut some services and might even close their doors.
• “So we’re expecting them to provide the same level of services with $26 billion less,” said state Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria.
• [Chris Gordon, chief financial officer of the Department of Medical Assistance Services] Gordon said he expects the new law’s caps would mean cuts in hospital staffing that would weigh on job markets and local economies.
• Meanwhile, the Trump administration has set higher out-of-pocket caps on Affordable Care Act coverage and is imposing more burdensome paperwork requirements, Patchett said.