Latest news with #IlanShapiro
Miami Herald
28-04-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Medicaid cuts may disproportionately affect Black, Latino doctors and their patients
Los Angeles pediatrician and urgent care specialist Dr. Ilan Shapiro worries for his chronically ill patients as he watches Congress weigh significant cuts to Medicaid. He thinks of a boy who, before finding Shapiro's clinic, was in and out of emergency rooms and intensive care units because of severe asthma attacks, instead of competing in soccer games and studying for exams. The boy's parents were losing hours and pay at work with the frequent ER visits. Shapiro, who is Latino, works at a federally qualified health care center, a clinic for low-income patients. Most of his patients are people of color on Medicaid, and roughly a quarter of them are children. Research shows Latino and Black family physicians are more likely to see Medicaid patients compared with their white and Asian counterparts. Experts say the Medicaid cuts Congress is weighing would strap health care centers that rely on already-low Medicaid reimbursements, disproportionately affecting communities of color and the physicians they rely on. Of the 72 million people covered by Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities, more than half are people of color, with Black and Hispanic people disproportionately represented on the rolls. Black and Hispanic patients have a higher risk of conditions such as high blood pressure, kidney disease and certain cancers, making health care access crucial. Congressional Republicans are considering $880 billion in cuts to federal Medicaid spending to offset trillions in tax cuts proposed by President Donald Trump. Conservatives have long argued that Medicaid is too expensive. They assert its expansion under the Affordable Care Act to more working adults has diverted too much money toward nondisabled people, taking resources away from vulnerable populations the program was originally intended to help. But clinicians and policy analysts say the federal Medicaid cuts could have an especially detrimental impact on vulnerable enrollees, including children, older adults and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, as states are forced to find savings to fill the gap. One GOP proposal targeting Medicaid expansion could lead to reductions in children's health insurance programs, according to a February report by the Urban Institute. The think tank estimates that proposed cuts to federal Medicaid expansion spending could increase the number of uninsured kids by 11.8%. "I'm deeply afraid," said Shapiro. "It's not just health insurance. It's a lifeline for the entire family that could be severely impacted." Bias and language barriers Just 6% of U.S. physicians are Latino and 5% are Black, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Sustaining the relatively few medical practices with Black and Hispanic providers is important amid evidence that racial bias, lack of access to culturally competent care and language barriers lead to poorer health outcomes or access. For example, analyses have shown Black patients are less likely to be prescribed pain medication, and some clinicians hold false ideas that Black patients have a higher pain tolerance. Nearly 1 in 3 Black, Hispanic and multiracial women reported mistreatment in medical settings during pregnancy and delivery, such as receiving no help when asking for it or being shouted at, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. Language barriers, which Latino communities are more likely to face, are also associated with poorer health or limited access to health care. "We understand the language and cultural concordance and the improved outcomes," said Dr. Linda Mirdamadi, an adjunct clinical assistant professor at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine who serves on the National Hispanic Medical Association's board of directors. "There's a sense of trust." Mirdamadi said federal cuts to Medicaid would lead to loss of preventive care for her large, diverse community. "If they don't have access to health care, they're not going to have the access to chronic disease prevention, to vaccines, to cancer prevention screening," she said. "It is going to just increase the disparity gaps that already exist." 'Ripple effect' Dr. Roger Mitchell, president-elect of the National Medical Association, which represents Black physicians, said a widespread loss of Medicaid coverage would affect everybody, even people with private insurance. People without health coverage often don't have primary doctors and forgo preventive care, resulting in more trips to the emergency room. That can lead to longer wait times at ERs for everyone, regardless of their health insurance. Mitchell also pointed out that Medicaid reimbursements are a major funding stream for hospitals and clinics that see a lot of enrollees. Without that money, many of those providers might be forced to scale back their services or close. "The ripple effect is enormous," said Mitchell, who heads Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., where about 40% of patients are covered by Medicaid. "This is an issue that's not just affecting one portion of the U.S. populace, but all of us, and has the potential to have huge harm." Dr. Zita Magloire is a family physician, but she also offers obstetric care along with two OB-GYNs at Cairo Medical Care in the south Georgia city of Cairo. The city is the county seat of Grady County, which has about 26,000 residents, almost 30% of whom are Black. Her practice is one of the few in the area that takes Medicaid for obstetric care, she noted, and serves many Central American immigrant patients who drive from the surrounding rural areas to her clinic. When another practice in the area started cutting services, her center absorbed those patients. "There's not a lot of providers that accept Medicaid," she said. "What does that look like? Well, they [patients] show up with no prenatal care - and then, you have very high-risk patients." Back in Los Angeles, the boy whose family found Shapiro's clinic is now a teenager. He received stable asthma care there and got Medicaid coverage. "He started having a medical home. Everything changed. The ER visits and the intensive care unit visits changed to soccer games," Shapiro said. Having coverage, he continued, "makes a huge impact for the entire community." ____ Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached atnhassanein@ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medicaid cuts may unduly impact Black, Latino doctors, patients
(NewsNation) — Health care officials bracing for cuts to federal Medicaid spending are warning that the cuts could be potentially disastrous for some of America's most vulnerable populations. Congressional Republicans are considering $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid, a joint federal-state program that provides care to about 72 million people in the United States. More than half of those on Medicaid are people of color, with disproportionate numbers of Black and Hispanic people in the program. Studies have shown that Black and Hispanic patients are at a higher risk of developing conditions such as kidney disease, high blood pressure and some forms of cancer. Dr. Ilan Shapiro, a Latino pediatrician and urgent care doctor in Los Angeles, told Stateline that he worries for his chronically ill patients. The majority of the patients he sees at his low-income health clinic are people of color on Medicaid. Black Medicaid patients more likely to be hospitalized for preventable conditions: Analysis The Economic Policy Institute reported earlier this month that children could also be heavily affected if budget cuts were to impact Medicaid expansion or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The proposed decreases to Medicaid funding could increase the number of uninsured children by about 12%, the think tank found. A quarter of Shapiro's patients are children, Stateline reported. 'I'm deeply afraid,' Shapiro said. 'It's not just health insurance. It's a lifeline for the entire family that could be severely impacted.' Doctors like Shapiro, and clinics like the one where he works, could also be greatly affected. According to Stateline, Latino and Black physicians are more likely to take on Medicaid patients than white or Asian doctors. The proposed budget cuts would also impact clinics that already rely on meager Medicaid reimbursements to stay open. Will there be Medicaid cuts? The Medicaid cuts would result from lawmakers attempting to offset the trillions of dollars in tax cuts proposed by the Trump administration. The Hill reported that the federal government is responsible for about 90% of the funding for states implementing Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. According to CBS News, House leaders have vowed to spare Medicaid's budget, but it remains unclear how they would otherwise manage the $1.5 trillion in cuts that would be needed under a budget resolution Congress passed earlier this year. The resolution requires the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, to find those savings over the next 10 years, the network reported. The cuts cannot come from Medicare, which provides coverage to senior citizens. While Republicans have promised to leave Medicaid spending intact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has determined that the needed savings would not be feasible without cutting the program. According to its report, Medicaid makes up 93% of the committee's non-Medicare spending. Cutting all spending outside of Medicare and Medicaid through 2034 would result in just $581 billion in savings. The Hill reported that an analysis by liberal think tank The Center for American Progress determined that more than 34,000 additional deaths could result if the federal government reduces its 90% match. Twelve of those states already have 'trigger' laws in place that would end their expansion efforts if the federal government lowers that match rate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medicaid cuts may disproportionately affect Black, Latino doctors and their patients
Members of the National Medical Association, which represents Black physicians, pose for a photo after a visit to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Black and Latino family physicians, who are more likely to see Medicaid patients than their white and Asian counterparts, say proposed Medicaid cuts would disproportionately affect communities they serve. (Courtesy of National Medical Association) Los Angeles pediatrician and urgent care specialist Dr. Ilan Shapiro worries for his chronically ill patients as he watches Congress weigh significant cuts to Medicaid. He thinks of a boy who, before finding Shapiro's clinic, was in and out of emergency rooms and intensive care units because of severe asthma attacks, instead of competing in soccer games and studying for exams. The boy's parents were losing hours and pay at work with the frequent ER visits. Shapiro, who is Latino, works at a federally qualified health care center, a clinic for low-income patients. Most of his patients are people of color on Medicaid, and roughly a quarter of them are children. Research shows Latino and Black family physicians are more likely to see Medicaid patients compared with their white and Asian counterparts. Experts say the Medicaid cuts Congress is weighing would strap health care centers that rely on already-low Medicaid reimbursements, disproportionately affecting communities of color and the physicians they rely on. It's not just health insurance. It's a lifeline for the entire family that could be severely impacted. – Dr. Ilan Shapiro Of the 72 million people covered by Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities, more than half are people of color, with Black and Hispanic people disproportionately represented on the rolls. Black and Hispanic patients have a higher risk of conditions such as high blood pressure, kidney disease and certain cancers, making health care access crucial. Congressional Republicans are considering $880 billion in cuts to federal Medicaid spending to offset trillions in tax cuts proposed by President Donald Trump. Conservatives have long argued that Medicaid is too expensive. They assert its expansion under the Affordable Care Act to more working adults has diverted too much money toward nondisabled people, taking resources away from vulnerable populations the program was originally intended to help. But clinicians and policy analysts say the federal Medicaid cuts could have an especially detrimental impact on vulnerable enrollees, including children, older adults and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, as states are forced to find savings to fill the gap. Black maternal health advocates, researchers press on amid federal funding cuts One GOP proposal targeting Medicaid expansion could lead to reductions in children's health insurance programs, according to a February report by the Urban Institute. The think tank estimates that proposed cuts to federal Medicaid expansion spending could increase the number of uninsured kids by 11.8%. 'I'm deeply afraid,' said Shapiro. 'It's not just health insurance. It's a lifeline for the entire family that could be severely impacted.' Just 6% of U.S. physicians are Latino and 5% are Black, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Sustaining the relatively few medical practices with Black and Hispanic providers is important amid evidence that racial bias, lack of access to culturally competent care and language barriers lead to poorer health outcomes or access. For example, analyses have shown Black patients are less likely to be prescribed pain medication, and some clinicians hold false ideas that Black patients have a higher pain tolerance. Nearly 1 in 3 Black, Hispanic and multiracial women reported mistreatment in medical settings during pregnancy and delivery, such as receiving no help when asking for it or being shouted at, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. Language barriers, which Latino communities are more likely to face, are also associated with poorer health or limited access to health care. A fifth of Americans are on Medicaid. Some of them have no idea. 'We understand the language and cultural concordance and the improved outcomes,' said Dr. Linda Mirdamadi, an adjunct clinical assistant professor at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine who serves on the National Hispanic Medical Association's board of directors. 'There's a sense of trust.' Mirdamadi said federal cuts to Medicaid would lead to loss of preventive care for her large, diverse community. 'If they don't have access to health care, they're not going to have the access to chronic disease prevention, to vaccines, to cancer prevention screening,' she said. 'It is going to just increase the disparity gaps that already exist.' Dr. Roger Mitchell, president-elect of the National Medical Association, which represents Black physicians, said a widespread loss of Medicaid coverage would affect everybody, even people with private insurance. People without health coverage often don't have primary doctors and forgo preventive care, resulting in more trips to the emergency room. That can lead to longer wait times at ERs for everyone, regardless of their health insurance. Mitchell also pointed out that Medicaid reimbursements are a major funding stream for hospitals and clinics that see a lot of enrollees. Without that money, many of those providers might be forced to scale back their services or close. 'The ripple effect is enormous,' said Mitchell, who heads Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., where about 40% of patients are covered by Medicaid. 'This is an issue that's not just affecting one portion of the U.S. populace, but all of us, and has the potential to have huge harm.' Medicaid cuts could hurt older adults who rely on home care, nursing homes Dr. Zita Magloire is a family physician, but she also offers obstetric care along with two OB-GYNs at Cairo Medical Care in the south Georgia city of Cairo. The city is the county seat of Grady County, which has about 26,000 residents, almost 30% of whom are Black. Her practice is one of the few in the area that takes Medicaid for obstetric care, she noted, and serves many Central American immigrant patients who drive from the surrounding rural areas to her clinic. When another practice in the area started cutting services, her center absorbed those patients. 'There's not a lot of providers that accept Medicaid,' she said. 'What does that look like? Well, they [patients] show up with no prenatal care — and then, you have very high-risk patients.' Back in Los Angeles, the boy whose family found Shapiro's clinic is now a teenager. He received stable asthma care there and got Medicaid coverage. 'He started having a medical home. Everything changed. The ER visits and the intensive care unit visits changed to soccer games,' Shapiro said. Having coverage, he continued, 'makes a huge impact for the entire community.' Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
