We Must Urge Congress to Protect Access to Medicaid, Patient Care and 24/7 Hospital Services

Congressional lawmakers are heading home for a two-week district work period after both the Senate and House passed a revised budget resolution for fiscal year 2025, allowing the chambers to move forward with the reconciliation process and begin drafting the specific policies that will be included in the reconciliation bill. This is where the hard work begins.

The revised resolution still includes instructions for the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut spending by $880 billion, which means cuts to Medicaid and other health programs are very much still on the table.

However, this week’s budget action is another step in a long process and no specifics on anything have been decided. It’s important to note that the House Energy and Commerce Committee includes broad jurisdiction over many sectors of the economy beyond health care, and the Senate seems inclined to take a more modest approach. In the meantime, we have been building momentum with lawmakers and the public to demonstrate that devastating cuts to the Medicaid program — and the 72 million individuals who rely on it for coverage — should not be used to pay for the reconciliation bill.

We can use the next two weeks while representatives and senators are in their districts and states to drive this point home and explain how significant cuts to Medicaid would stress the availability of health care services for everyone and jeopardize access to the 24/7 care and services that hospitals provide.

New Polling Shows Widespread Support for Medicaid. New polling released this week from President Trump’s 2024 pollster showed that 74% of all voters and 61% of Trump voters have a favorable view of Medicaid. In addition, 70% of total voters, including a majority of Trump voters, opposed cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts. “Our recent survey shows there is no appetite across the political spectrum for cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts,” the poll memo said. “Medicaid is well-liked by most voters, in large part due to the broad impact it has across the electorate and the high level of importance voters place on as many Americans as possible having health insurance.”

Advocacy Resources and Advertising. The AHA continues to share new resources that hospitals and health systems can use to assist their advocacy efforts. Visit our Medicaid advocacy webpage for fact sheets, blogs pushing back on misguided reports and other resources you can use in conversations with your lawmakers. And watch for an Action Alert soon with additional resources.

At the same time, the Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare, of which the AHA is a founding member, continues to run its Faces of Medicaid national ad campaign that highlights Medicaid’s critical impact on the tens of millions of people who rely on the program for access to care. During the last two weeks, the Coalition launched two new ads, “Promises,” which underscores President Trump’s public commitments about protecting Medicaid and Medicare and calls on Congress not to cut Medicaid, and “30 Million,” focusing on Medicaid coverage for children. The ads are running on national cable and digitally. In addition, the Coalition continues to engage its 2.6 million advocates in a grassroots campaign to send letters, make phone calls and send social media posts to their legislators urging them to protect access to care and services.

Make Your Voices Heard. While the AHA and Coalition provide the air cover in Washington, nothing is more powerful than your voice — and the voices of your team members, trustees, patients and community members — with your senators and representatives. You live, work and, most importantly, vote in their districts and states. You have their attention and can explain to them the impact policy proposals would have for their constituents and your ability to provide care. Please take advantage of your legislators being home and highlight for them the need to protect Medicaid and access to the 24/7 services that hospitals and health systems provide.

In addition, if you haven’t done so yet, there’s still time to make plans to join nearly 1,000 hospital and health system leaders for the AHA’s Annual Membership Meeting May 4-6 in Washington, D.C. You’ll hear directly from legislators, policymakers and thought leaders, as well as have the opportunity to go to Capitol Hill to deliver our field’s message about protecting access to care and services, providing relief from burdensome regulations and policies, and strengthening and supporting the health care workforce.

We’ve seen time and time again when our field speaks with a strong and united voice, lawmakers hear us. And we get results. That unity will be more important than ever over the next few weeks and months as we stand up for patients to protect access to the care that hospitals and health systems provide in every community across America.