ASSESSING THREATS TO HEALTH CARE ACCESS IN THE DISTRICT
During this recess, I have talked with a variety of health care providers about how the funding cuts in the Big Ugly Law and the Trump Administration’s freeze of grant funding will impact their ability to provide access to care, especially to vulnerable populations. Last week, I visited the Virginia League of Planned Parenthood (“VLPP”)’s East End Health Center in Richmond and the Waverly Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Sussex County.
VLPP’s East End Health Center opened in Church Hill in 2020 to provide primary care and a full range of reproductive health and gender-affirming care to historically underserved communities. VLPP health centers provide many services beyond just abortion, serving roughly 25,000 patients per month across 4 locations. In 2033, these services included:
- Contraception to over 12,000 patients;
- Over 12,000 sexually transmitted disease tests;
- Nearly 1,300 breast exams; and
- 705 cervical cancer screenings.
Between 700 to 800 VLPP patients per month use Medicaid to pay for services. While federal Medicaid funds cannot be used for abortion services except in very narrow circumstances, a provision in the Big Ugly Law blocks Medicaid payments for any services provided at a Planned Parenthood health center for up to a year. A federal judge partially blocked this provision — for now. But the Big Ugly Law’s Medicaid cuts will still hit the East End Health Center patients hard.
VLPP patients have already been impacted by the Trump Administration’s freeze of Title X family planning funding, which helps low and extremely low-income people access services such as contraception, sexually transmitted disease screenings and treatment, and cancer screenings at little or no cost. Since April, the Administration has withheld $65 million in Title X family planning funding from three VLPP health centers, including the East End Health Center. As a result, about 11,000 Virginia patients have had to pay more for these services or skip them altogether. During my visit, I talked to the East End Health Center Medical Director about what these cuts mean for her patients.
In April and June, I joined several House Democratic colleagues in sending letters to Secretary Kennedy urging the release of these funds.
The Big Ugly Law also threatens rural long-term care providers like the Waverly Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center. Medicaid covers 90 percent of the patients at Waverly, with the remaining 10 percent covered by Medicare. Long-term care facilities operate on slim margins, and their reimbursements for providing care to Medicaid patients often fall below the actual cost of care. These low reimbursement rates make it difficult for rural facilities to pay staff at levels competitive with urban areas or other industries. Medicaid cuts under the Big Ugly Bill could significantly affect Waverly’s ability to attract staff, provide quality care or even stay open.
These site visits help me connect how funding cuts in Washington impact access to health care for my constituents. Just as I fought these cuts in the Big Ugly Law, I’m fighting now to repeal them.
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