Lutz: Proposed Medicaid cuts would negatively affect HCH

Proposed federal cuts to Medicaid, which is a government health insurance program for low-income Americans, would have a devastating effect on rural hospitals, like Holton Community Hospital, according to Carrie Saia, HCH CEO.

“We can’t sustain serving our community the way we are with additional cuts,” Lutz told the national online news agency Reuters. 

Lutz and HCH were recently featured in an online article on Reuters.com about the proposed cuts.

President Donald Trump’s proposed tax-cut and spending plan, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, includes reducing Medicaid spending by $785 billion over a decade, according to the Reuters article. 

This reportedly would be achieved by tightening Medicaid enrollment standards and limiting federal aid to states, it was reported.

Medicaid covers 71 million low-income people in the U.S., and if passed, the bill would require able-bodied adult recipients to work. 

It was estimated that the bill, as is, would leave 10.9 million people without insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office. 

Republicans who support the bill said the proposed Medicaid changes would reduce the amount of people taking advantage of the system.

The bill would also freeze the health care provider tax that many states impose.

In Kansas, the state recently increased its tax on Medicaid providers from three percent to six percent, which Reuters said is “an accounting maneuver” that effectivity boosts the federal government’s contribution towards Medicaid.

The bill would block or “freeze” the state increase, it was reported.

Lutz told Reuters that the freeze on the provider tax would reduce Holton Community Hospital’s $22 million annual revenue by roughly $1 million.

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