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Pentagon set up briefing for Musk on potential war with China; With Department of Education gutted, what happens to student loans? MS urged to reform mental health system to reduce jail overcrowding; Potential NOAA cuts could put WI weather warnings on ice.

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Lawmakers from both parties face angry constituents. Some decide to skip town halls rather than address concerned voters. And Kentucky considers mandatory Medicaid work requirements.

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Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

Nurse practitioner: Medicaid cuts could 'devastate' WA patients, providers

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Monday, February 24, 2025   

Proposed Medicaid cuts could seriously affect Washington hospitals and health care workers.

President Donald Trump and House Republicans are proposing $800 billion in cuts. Critics said it could mean ending health care access for nearly 2 million people on Washington's Apple Health, and about 73 million Americans nationwide.

Justin Gill, a nurse practitioner and president of the Washington State Nurses Association, said at least one in three patients he sees are on Medicaid. Many have been able to get medical care for the first time in years because of the program and Gill said cuts would be devastating.

"That's going to directly impact their ability to access care when they need it," Gill pointed out. "That has long-term effects on their ability to catch conditions early, before they become much more costly and much more debilitating."

In Washington state, the federal government pays 50% of the cost of traditional Medicaid, and 90% of costs for people covered under the Medicaid expansion, which extended coverage to nearly all low-income adults. Medicaid also currently covers one-third of births in the state and care for the majority of nursing home residents.

Critics of Medicaid said it is a drain on the federal budget. But proponents countered the government benefits in many ways from having a healthier population. Gill noted Medicaid cuts would limit patients' access to necessary tests and other diagnostics, which also increases the stress and risk for their providers.

"Nurses and physicians are going to be expected to still be held to a high standard, provide a high level of quality of care, and then have the resources taken out under us as the system collapses," Gill contended.

Health care workers are often advised to stay out of politics, Gill acknowledged, but the issue goes beyond party lines.

"We're going to call out policies that are going to hurt our patients, just like we would speak up for them at the bedside," Gill emphasized.


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