As extreme Republicans and the Trump administration push for major cuts to Medicaid to pay for a tax cut for billionaires, it’s Arizona’s most vulnerable that will pay the price
WASHINGTON, D.C—Representative Greg Stanton will be joined by Walter Murillo, CEO of Native Health and Board President of the National Council of Urban Indian Health, for President Donald Trump’s Joint Address to Congress tomorrow evening.
“Walter and the team at Native Health work every day to provide quality affordable health care to Arizona’s urban native population, and as many as half of their patients rely on AHCCCS. I’m proud that Walter will be my guest at the President’s address to highlight why Congress should reject any budget that cuts Medicaid and takes away health care for Arizona families,” Stanton said.
“Medicaid cuts would have a devastating impact on our patients. Native Health provides critical services, primary care, behavioral health, and dental care to our communities. We reach people that may otherwise not have access to care due to location, affordability, or health care coverage. Lack of covered care by Medicaid would result in unaddressed health problems of both acute and chronic disease like diabetes. Lack of primary care can cause treatable and maintainable conditions to become more severe to the patient and more costly to the healthcare system is Arizona,” Murillo said. “The care provided by Native Health and other community health centers is essential and we depend on the revenue from Medicaid. That revenue is vitally important for our ability to sustain our center. Drastic cuts to Medicaid in the federal budget will surely impact who is covered, what is covered, and the reimbursement rates to providers.”
The Republican House budget resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week instructs the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut at least $880 billion in costs over the next decade. To make those types of steep cuts, Republicans are weighing billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, which would threaten health care coverage for 80 million Americans. Republicans are considering these cuts to Medicaid to offer “lucrative tax cuts to corporations and wealthier Americans,” according to the Associated Press.
Background
Native Health is one of 41 Urban Indian-serving health clinics that provide holistic health care services for Native communities in the United States, and they rely on Medicaid payments to continue caring for underserved populations. Cuts to Medicaid, as promised by President Trump and House Republicans in their budget proposal, put the health care of 2.7 million Native Americans—and millions more—at risk.
According to the National Council of Urban Indian Health, Medicaid is the biggest source of funding for Urban Indian Organizations outside of the Indian Health Service (IHS). 37.4% of Native Arizonans are enrolled in Medicaid—including more than 53,000 Native Medicaid beneficiaries in Arizona’s Fourth Congressional District.