Corewell Hosts Michigan Democrats In Medicaid Struggle Session

Elected federal and state Democrats were hosted by Corewell Health Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids yesterday.  The event was held to shore up political opposition to Medicaid budget reforms.  Reports do not indicate that waste, fraud or financial abuse in Medicaid programs was ever mentioned:

https://www.mlive.com/politics/2025/04/michigan-officials-medicaid-cuts-would-raise-healthcare-costs-for-all.html

Michigan officials: Medicaid cuts would raise healthcare costs for all
By Michael Kransz | April 14, 2025

Proposed federal cuts to Medicaid would jeopardize healthcare for the more than 2.6 million Michiganders who rely on the government-funded program and raise the cost of care for all, elected leaders and healthcare officials said Monday.

“The straight-up assault on what people need to be healthy and to have a chance of being successful is incredibly dangerous,” Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said Monday, “and I can’t use weak words to describe these cuts to Medicaid that are on the table.”

Gilchrist spoke Monday, April 14, at Corewell Health Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids during a roundtable he convened with elected leaders, healthcare officials and veterans advocates.

The focus of the roundtable was on the impact of potential cuts to Medicaid of up to $880 billion over the next 10 years being considered by the federal Legislature.

The potential cuts were included in the 2026 budget framework narrowly approved last week by House Republicans, according to the Hill. The Associated Press reports federal lawmakers will work over the coming weeks and months to turn the framework into a budget bill for final approval.

Medicaid is a government-funded health insurance program for low-income individuals and families, people with disabilities and more. Michigan receives billions of dollars each year from the federal government to administer the program, including nearly $17.5 billion in 2023.

While the Democratic members of Michigan’s House delegation voted against the budget framework, all Republicans voted for it.

Gilchrist warned that by going along with the potential cuts, Michigan’s Congressional Republicans risk “hurting, harming and potentially even killing their own citizens.”

Officials warned that cuts to Medicaid wouldn’t just jeopardize the health of those who rely on the program but could also translate into higher healthcare costs for all, program cuts and potential layoffs and closures in the healthcare industry, like nursing facilities funded by Medicaid.

“If people lose access to all the preventative care, then they’re not going to get healthier; they’re going to get sicker,” said Corewell Health interim Chief Operating Officer Chad Tuttle. “And at whatever point they get so sick that they need to go to the hospital, they’re going to come to the hospital.

“We’re going to care for them regardless of who their payer is, but the reality is then if we’re providing that care subsidized, those costs need to be offset elsewhere, so the care for everybody else rises.”

Tuttle said Corewell Health, Michigan’s biggest hospital system, isn’t at the point yet of talking about possible closures or layoffs due to potential Medicaid cuts.

“We’ll have to assess any impact as it would come,” he said.

The spending framework adopted last week directs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to cut $880 billion from the spending it oversees over the next decade. Medicaid is under the committee’s jurisdiction.

While the plan doesn’t explicitly target Medicaid, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has stated that the extent of the cuts would require reductions to Medicaid.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has stated the cuts would primarily target fraud and inefficiencies, and President Donald Trump has pledged to protect Medicaid funding. Some Republican representatives have warned they won’t support a budget bill that cuts Medicaid.

“I’m all for fiscal responsibility. I’m all for spending our dollars in Washington more wisely,” U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids said Monday, “but taking away health care from some of the most needy and deserving individuals in our country is not the way to do it.”

Scholten said there’s still time for the federal lawmakers to reverse course before a final budget bill is approved.

“We have time now to make our voices heard and tell the leadership in Washington, House Republicans, that this is not what we want for the American people,” she said.

State Rep. Phil Skaggs, D-East Grand Rapids, said the state doesn’t have the revenues to backfill significant cuts to Medicaid.

Both Skaggs and Gilchrist talked about the need to engage the philanthropic community for financial assistance should Medicaid be significantly cut.

“I’m convening all of those partners and communities across Michigan to have that kind of brainstorming about what we can do and what we can do now,” Gilchrist said. “But ultimately, the best solution is to not have these cuts come in the first place. That is the answer to the question.”