Washington, D.C. – The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) urges the House to vote “no” on Senate-passed budget reconciliation legislation which would have destructive impacts on Medicaid and community health. Approximately 11 million Americans will lose insurance if this bill is enacted, and community health centers (CHCs)—which depend on Medicaid as their largest single source of revenue—will struggle to remain solvent.
“The harm this legislation would inflict on our safety-net institutions—and the healthcare workforce that makes their work possible—cannot be overstated,” said Amanda Pears Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of ACU. “Despite the inclusion of some mitigating measures like the Provider Relief Fund, there is simply no way to fill the $930 billion hole in the safety net that these Medicaid cuts will create. Patients and healthcare professionals alike will fall through it, health centers and other safety-net providers will struggle to keep their doors open, and the health and economies of our communities will suffer as an inevitable result.”
As numerous analyses have shown, the Medicaid cuts proposed in this bill will devastate the ability of health centers—and other institutions—to recruit and retain an already overburdened healthcare workforce and stand to severely limit continued access to vitally important primary and preventive care in communities that need it most. Services will also be cut as health centers grapple with severely strained funding which will only be worsened by the proposed cuts the Medicaid contained in the Senate bill. So, too, will the U.S. economy suffer as cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will result in considerable reductions in state and local tax revenues.
For the workforce we represent and the patients we serve, ACU urges House members to vote “no” on this legislation.
About ACU
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) is a uniquely transdisciplinary membership organization striving to establish a robust, multifaceted workforce to help transform communities to increase access to quality health care for all. Founded in 1996 by participants in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), ACU is the foremost advocate for the NHSC and leads advocacy, clinical, operational, and other areas of excellence and supports the healthcare workforce caring for America’s under-resourced populations. To learn more about ACU, visit www.clinicians.org.
