Threatened Medicaid Cuts

Issue:

              Recently, the US House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that instructed the Energy and Commerce Committee to identify means of reducing the federal deficit by $880 billion over ten years.  While the resolution did not explicitly mention Medicaid, the Committee’s limited scope makes substantial cuts to either Medicaid or Medicare unavoidable. Given the administration’s commitment to preserving Medicare, Medicaid is expected to face significant reductions. As Medicaid is the single biggest payor of behavioral health services, this will have a devastating impact on communities. These cuts will lead to more untreated mental illness, increasing psychiatric hospitalizations and overdoses, and ultimately raising both the human and financial costs.

Statement:

The American Association of Community Psychiatry firmly believes that Medicaid is essential to the health and well-being of our communities. We strongly oppose any reductions in Medicaid funding, including through per capita caps on federal funding, eligibility restrictions, or work requirements. These measures would cause lasting harm to our patients and health infrastructure while shifting care to more costly emergency and inpatient services.