As questions surrounding the future of government subsidized healthcare continue to swirl around Congress, Rep. Scott Peters voted against a plan to scale back one of the programs – to no avail.
While Peters, D-San Diego, introduced an amendment aimed at protecting Medicaid during a meeting before the Committee on Energy and Commerce, it was rejected by the Republican majority.
According to an analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the committee’s budget reconciliation recommendations concerning health are expected to significantly reduce the national deficit over nearly a decade.
The price, however, is steep – at least 8.6 million people will lose their health insurance.
After a nearly 26-hour committee meeting, the vote to advance the legislation split along party lines, with 30 in favor and 24 opposed.
“Our country borrows $2 trillion every year just to keep the lights on. That number will only grow and add to our colossal debt if we don’t address it,” Peters said. “But Republicans aren’t trying to reduce the debt, they are kicking people off their healthcare to lower taxes for the highest earners.”
In Peters’ district, which includes central and coastal San Diego communities, along with parts of northeastern San Diego County, there are 156,100 Medicaid enrollees, or nearly 20% of his constituents.
Additionally, hospitals in San Diego may face difficulties due to the loss of Medicaid funding; five hospitals in the district reported negative operating margins in 2022.
They includes:
Scripps Mercy Hospital, which had a negative operating margin of 25.3% and receives nearly 22% of its revenue from Medicaid Sharp Coronado Hospital, with a negative 3.5% operating margin and over 36% of its revenue from Medicaid, and UC San Diego Medical Center, which had a negative 2.4% operating margin with nearly 19% of its revenue coming from Medicaid.Medicaid is the federal funding program for those who cannot afford health insurance. California’s program is known as Medi-Cal.
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