Local leaders respond to potential Medicaid cuts
DERBY, Conn. (WTNH) — Leaders of multiple local hospitals came together Monday morning to warn what might happen if Republicans in Congress pass their proposed changes to Medicaid.
They worry state and local costs will skyrocket if the federal government makes proposed changes to how the program works.
One of the proposed changes involves charging low-income patients a co-pay of as much as $35 for certain medical appointments.
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'What this does is act as a barrier,' said Griffin Hospital CEO Patrick Charmel. 'People will see they have an out-of-pocket responsibility and just won't pursue the care that they need.'
Eventually, he said, those people will end up in the emergency room, which ends up costing more. The Trump administration contends their changes will lower insurance premiums, but Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT3) disagrees.
'Premiums for individual plans sold on Access Health CT will increase by as much as 25% next year,' DeLauro said.
DeLauro says proposed cuts threaten access to health care for nearly 14 million people nationwide. A white house spokesman had a different take in an emailed statement.
'President Trump pledged to protect and preserve Medicaid, and that's exactly what The One, Big, Beautiful accomplishes by kicking illegal immigrants off the program, implementing commonsense work requirements, and enforcing basic eligibility verification to combat fraud,' wrote spokesman Kush Desai.
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For those not on Medicaid, they may wonder why they should care about these cuts. Hospitals have to provide care to everybody who needs it, whether they can pay for it or not.
If there is less money from the government coming in to pay for low-income patients, that means hospitals that are already stretched thin financially, could find themselves in serious financial trouble.
'Cuts to programs that support our communities like Medicaid will stress that ecosystem further and bring changes, challenges and collapses to some of our critical infrastructure across the state of Connecticut,' said Dr. Tom Balcezak, EVP & Chief Clinical Officer, Yale New Haven Health System.
Which, they say, means fewer people seeing fewer doctors.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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