‘I could die’: Delaware patients, health care providers, members of Congress warn against federal cuts to Medicaid

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This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“Without Medicaid, I could die,” Newark resident Caroline King said.

King relies on the government insurance program to manage her multiple rare and complex medical conditions, with one treatment costing over $19,000 a month.

“I do not know a single average citizen who could afford this, let alone those of us who are limited to working part time due to disabling complex medical conditions,” she said. “If it were not for Medicaid, I would not have been able to receive this life-saving and now life-sustaining treatment.”

Delaware’s Congressional delegation joined doctors, patients, medical organizations and health care advocates Monday in Wilmington to warn that Medicaid was on the chopping block in the budget outline passed last week.

While all three of Delaware’s representatives in the U.S. House and Senate voted no, 10 Senate Democrats joined Republicans to pass it and avert a government shutdown. That means any cuts to Medicaid or other programs can be approved with a simple majority vote in both chambers.

The House GOP budget proposal, which funds the government through September, is seeking hundreds of billions of dollars in spending cuts. The plan requires the House Energy and Commerce Committee to figure out how to cut the deficit by at least $880 billion over the next decade. The committee oversees Medicaid.

While supporters of the plan assert that the word “Medicaid” is not in the legislation, Delaware’s U.S. Sens. Chris Coons, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Congresswoman Sarah McBride argue that it is part of the Republicans’ plan in order to make 2017 tax cuts that will expire soon permanent.

“The Republicans have made clear that their goal is to give another multi-trillion dollar tax cut to the wealthiest Americans and most profitable companies,” Coons said. “And because there are some fiscal conservatives in the House who are insisting they pay for it, they’ve made it clear how they’re going to pay for it, which is slashing Medicaid.”

Delaware gets federal funding for the insurance program and has to provide matching funds. The state received about $2.4 billion in federal Medicaid funding in fiscal year 2023, according to KFF Health News. It is currently expected to spend $1.1 billion for FY 2026 in matching dollars. About 250,000 Delawareans are on Medicaid.

McBride said cuts to Medicaid could be devastating to Delaware. She said it would mean a loss of $200 million to the First State, which would require finding new sources of revenue or slashing services.

Rosa Rivera, Chief Operating Officer of La Red Health Center, said the center has been providing medical care to vulnerable communities for 24 years. Of the 13,000 patients it serves, nearly 40% are covered by Medicaid. Many have chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and substance use disorder.

“Without Medicaid, our patients will likely put off care and medications they need, and we as an organization will struggle to find ways to absorb the unfunded cost,” she said.

McBride said that members of the public in Delaware and across the country need to mobilize and contact their members of Congress to fight these cuts.

“We are in a democracy. We can put pressure on those Republicans,” she said. “Now they might, they might choose not to side with their constituents, but then ultimately, that’ll be on them, and they’ll have to face repercussions of that electorally.”