Governor Bob Ferguson issued a stark warning on Wednesday, stating that hundreds of thousands of residents in Washington will lose their health care coverage due to cuts to Medicaid included in the spending bill signed by President Trump last week.
The legislation is projected to reduce Medicaid funding nationwide by approximately $930 billion over the next decade, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. The new law, which Trump has referred to as the “big, beautiful bill,” also allocates additional funding for immigration enforcement and extends existing tax cuts.
The legislation introduces new work requirements for Medicaid recipients, further complicating access to health care for vulnerable populations. Ferguson’s office estimates that at least 250,000 Washington residents will lose their Medicaid coverage as a result of these changes. Furthermore, approximately 150,000 individuals may find it impossible to afford plans on the state insurance exchange due to the elimination of certain federal subsidies.
The governor emphasized the serious implications of these cuts, warning that both urban and rural hospitals may face closure due to the loss of Medicaid reimbursements. “It’s difficult to overstate how devastating these cuts will be to Washingtonians,” Ferguson told reporters on Wednesday.
While the new work requirements for Medicaid will not take effect until 2027, many other changes within the law will be implemented sooner, including the expiration of health care premium subsidies scheduled for January. An analysis conducted by KFF, a health policy research organization, indicates that Washington could receive about $41 billion less in federal Medicaid funding over the next ten years, which represents roughly a 19% reduction compared to what the state would have received without the new law.
In response to the legislation, White House spokesperson Kush Desai characterized it as a “historic effort to protect Medicaid for future generations by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse within the program,” in an email to Axios. However, the potential repercussions for countless individuals relying on Medicaid in Washington remain a significant concern for state leaders and health care advocates.
