COWINS has joined the nation-wide fight to stop Medicaid cuts because Medicaid saves lives. Medicaid cuts put 377,000 Coloradans at risk of losing healthcare, and that includes thousands of state workers. And Medicaid and other federal cuts will decimate our State budget: that could mean job cuts, pay freezes, and furloughs for State workers.
377,000 Coloradans Could Lose Healthcare.
Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) estimates that the feds’ budget bill will put at least 377,000 Coloradans at risk of losing healthcare. That’s more than one third of Colorado’s 1.2 million Medicaid recipients.
Many will lose Medicaid because of so-called “work requirements” that will force recipients to repeatedly prove they are either working enough hours, or can’t work, and will penalize workers for losing a job, not working “enough,” or for being between jobs.
All of this bureaucratic red tape (for both the enrollees and the State) will be an especially onerous burden for Medicaid enrollees: most are in low-wage or unstable jobs without benefits or work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Others aren’t working because they go to school, provide care for someone, or are unable to work due to illness or disability.
State workers are among those who could lose healthcare.
It’s estimated that between 2,000 and 4,200 Colorado state employees don’t have high enough household incomes to afford the premiums for the state healthcare plan and rely on Medicaid for themselves and/or their dependents.
These state workers are among those at risk of losing their healthcare.
Do you depend on Medicaid for yourself or your dependents? Tell us your story here.
We Will See State Lay-offs and Pay Cuts.
We had to fight hard to protect this year’s pay increases because of a $1.2 billion shortfall in the state budget. And a shortfall is already projected for next year’s budget. Medicaid and other federal cuts are about to make that problem much, much worse.
The feds’ cuts have already cost Colorado more than $76 million, and the State expects their budget bill will cost Colorado another $1 billion between lost revenue and the downloading of costs for Medicaid and food assistance. The bill also cuts education and housing funding, putting even more strain on our state budget.
Part of that is the administrative cost of setting up an enforcement system for so-called “work requirements” for Medicaid: HCPF’s initial estimate puts that cost at $57 million.
All of this is going to leave the State under more pressure than ever to find places to cut, putting our pay increases, jobs, and services at risk.
Medicaid FAQ
Medicaid Is Efficient
Medicaid is the most efficient major health care program in America. Covering low-income adults through Medicaid costs 45 percent less than private insurance. While private insurers spend up to 18 percent of revenue on administrative overhead, Medicaid spends just 3 percent. Nearly every dollar goes directly to patient care.
If the Feds were truly serious about weeding out waste, fraud, and abuse, they’d fund employees, services and reasonable inspections and enforcement. Instead, they’re slashing oversight staff and targeting the very rules that keep the program honest. Data shows that 98 percent of fraud is committed by a small number of corrupt providers, not by the hard-working families who rely on Medicaid to survive.
Work Requirements Are Job Loss Penalties
Work requirements have little effect on people working, but risk millions losing their healthcare altogether.
The feds’ so-called “work requirements” will force recipients to repeatedly prove they are either working enough hours, or can’t work, and penalize workers for losing a job, not working “enough,” or for being between jobs.
93% of Medicaid Recipients Are Working
Because 93% of Medicaid enrollees are already working, and most of those who aren’t aren’t for a very good reason, there’s not much room to increase employment rates, especially with today’s job market trends. And taking away health insurance does not help people find and keep a job. Research shows that affordable health insurance positively impacts an individual’s ability to find employment, while poor health is associated with an increased risk of job loss.
The feds’ so-called “work requirements” aren’t about promoting work; they’re about taking healthcare away from working people by making them repeatedly jump through impossible bureaucratic hoops. We know that work requirements don’t increase work participation, but they do increase the ranks of the uninsured.
People With Disabilities Will Lose Healthcare
The feds may promise to exempt people with disabilities, but it is almost impossible to design an exemption that captures all people with disabilities. Some state proposals have adopted narrow definitions of disability and established high burdens of proof for participants seeking exemption. In Georgia, the only state that has tried this, unpaid caregiving for people with disabilities was not included as a qualified work activity.
