CCLP statement on U.S. House budget vote

CCLP statement on U.S. House budget vote

by Colorado Center on Law and Policy| Apr 10, 2025

News

Colorado Center on Law and Policy condemns U.S. House budget vote to gut funding for health care for children, low-wage workers, seniors, and people with disabilities.

More than a million Coloradans can get the health care they need because of Medicaid. Without it, those Coloradans will be at risk of illness, crushing medical debt, or death. That's not being dramatic: it's a fact. Medicaid is the only program that can provide in-home services that keep people with disabilities working and engaged in their communities. Medicaid also covers 60 percent of all nursing home costs, and 40 percent of all births.

But today, Colorado House Republicans voted in favor of a budget plan that will end Medicaid as we know it.

"This vote is not just about Medicaid and the people the program serves. The entire health care system relies on Medicaid reimbursement for a large part of its operating budget," said Bethany Pray, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at CCLP. "From primary care practices to hospitals, behavioral health clinics to nursing homes, the providers on which we all depend will close and staff will be laid off. The local businesses that relied on these institutions will be next to go. It won't matter if you have private coverage or even want to pay out-of-pocket if providers can't rely on federal funding to keep the lights on."

This vote shows that Republican Representatives Evans, Hurd, Boebert, and Crank are willing to put the health and wellbeing of their constituents, and their local economies, at risk. Colorado's economy was boosted last year by eight billion dollars in federal spending on Medicaid. The impact of that funding is greatest where Medicaid enrollment rates are the highest, Colorado's rural counties. In some rural counties, over half of all residents are enrolled in Medicaid. Losing both the providers and the funding for care will devastate already-struggling regions of our state, including the districts represented by the representatives who voted for these cuts.

Medicaid has a foundational role in our health system. If it is decimated as planned, it harms us all.

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