The nationwide push-back against possible Medicaid cuts came to San Diego County on Wednesday.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, held a roundtable discussion at Rady Children’s Hospital, drawing attention to local programs they said could be threatened by ongoing attempts to significantly reduce federal spending on programs that cover about 1 million people in San Diego County and 72 million nationwide.
Drawing television crews from throughout the region, the gathering was part of a big push among Democrats this week to highlight the size and scope of Medicaid – called Medi-Cal in California.
“They need to know what the real-world impacts would be of these plans,” Padilla said. “It’s not just a dollar figure, it’s not just a percentage, it’s not just a statistic. When it comes to Medicaid, it’s family, it’s children.
“Half of the children in the state of California count on Medicaid to access health care.”
“Just to be clear, Medicaid serves all kinds of people, older people, people with disabilities who need long-term care, people with mental health care (needs) or substance use disorder, kids, pregnant moms … 40% of all births in this country are covered by Medicaid, and this is what they’re talking about cutting,” Jacobs added.
Both Padilla and Jacobs said they believe that Congress will make significant cuts to Medicaid, though President Donald Trump has insisted that the program is not in the budget-cutting crosshairs.
While the budget reconciliation process gets underway in Washington, details about possible cost-cutting strategies have steadily trickled into public view.
A list obtained and published by the news site Politico indicates that Congressional Republicans are considering many different reductions to Medicaid. Proposals now being discussed include eliminating coverage for undocumented immigrants and penalizing states such as California that use state funding to pay for those benefits and significantly reducing the amount of “matching” money provided to pay for those who became eligible for the program under the Affordable Care Act, which took effect in 2014. Other ideas including capping spending per beneficiary and adding work requirements for those who receive assistance.
In an attempt to illustrate the types of programs that are at risk, Rady invited two local mothers and their children who are patients in programs that are heavily supported by Medi-Cal funding.
Adelia Aguilar Garcia told of her daughter, 5-year-old Delilah Knight, who has 28 different diagnosed medical conditions and is enrolled in Rady’s Enhanced Care Management program, receiving coordination services for medical appointments that average six per month.
Seilly Paredes Perez also shared the experiences of her 2-year-old son, Cesar. Diagnosed with short gut syndrome, retinal detachment in his left eye and hearing loss, his condition requires between 20 and 30 medical appointments per year, which the care management program helps to coordinate.
Dr. Patrick Frias, Rady’s chief executive officer, made the case that this sort of program, by helping families handle complex cases, helps reduce overall costs by preventing emergency department admissions and long hospital stays.
“We don’t offer programs that are for Medicaid patients and programs for commercial patients,” Frias said. “We offer programs for kids.
“So if a program has to get cut or go away, it goes away for all kids, not just Medicaid kids, and that’s the level of cut we’re talking about here.”
San Diego County receives a large amount of Medi-Cal revenue. A recent analysis by the UC Berkeley Labor Center indicates that the region receives nearly $13 billion per year, second in the state behind Los Angeles County, which receives $54 billion per year.
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