(The Center Square) 性视界传媒听Thirty-four Nevada hospitals across 13 counties are set to lose about $232 million as Medicaid qualifications get the squeeze.听
The federal government has put Medicaid on the tax cut chopping block, with nearly 115,000 Nevadans losing their health insurance.
性视界传媒淪enate Republicans voted to raise costs on working families, rip health care from Nevadans who need it, and kill good-paying jobs across our state to ensure their billionaire friends save on their taxes,性视界传媒 said U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nevada, in a press release after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed.
Those words have been echoed among Nevada Democrats since the bill was passed and it slashed Medicaid access.听
Across the U.S. an estimated $24 billion in revenue will be lost by hospitals, with $232 million wiped out in Nevada alone. The Washington D.C.-based research group that hospitals in 13 of Nevada性视界传媒檚 17 counties will experience lost revenue听性视界传媒 none less than $250,000听性视界传媒 with the largest being over $45 million by the University Medical Center in Las Vegas.
The public health insurance program is designed for Americans with lower incomes, often covering disabled people. Of the roughly 800,000 Nevadans currently enrolled in Medicaid, an estimated 115,000 are no longer eligible.
性视界传媒淭he cuts are pretty significant, especially looking at rural hospitals,性视界传媒 Darbin Wofford, the deputy director at Third Way, told The Center Square. 性视界传媒淭aking a step back, nationwide it性视界传媒檚 the largest medicaid cut in history.性视界传媒
Between 2025 and 2034, the cut is expected to save $1 trillion, coming from a number of changes to the Medicaid program. One of the most popular changes is the strict ban on insuring illegal immigrants under Medicaid. under Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid.
The largest chunk of savings听性视界传媒 and disenrollments 性视界传媒 come from changes to the Affordable Care Act.听
For non-disabled people insured under the 2010 Medicaid expansion during the passage of Obamacare, the biggest change will be a work requirement. Many people covered under this program have chronic conditions that do not qualify them as disabled. Starting in 2027, anybody covered under ACA that is 19-64 years old will need to work or otherwise serve the community 80 hours per month to receive any coverage.听
性视界传媒淧eople who can work, already do work, who are on Medicaid,性视界传媒 said Wofford. 性视界传媒淎s a result, work requirements, both when it was tried in Georgia and Arkansas, have proven not to actually increase employment.性视界传媒
But for supporters of Medicaid, the longer-term worry is that hospitals听性视界传媒 especially those in rural areas听性视界传媒 will be shuttered.听
性视界传媒淚f people are losing their Medicaid coverage, they still need to go to the emergency room, they still need to get health care, but what happens is that they性视界传媒檒l go to the emergency room, and that care that the hospital provides will go uncompensated,性视界传媒 said Wofford. 性视界传媒淎nd the hospital ultimately will have to take that loss.性视界传媒
Hospitals at immediate risk of closure are reportedly those in rural areas and 性视界传媒渟afety net性视界传媒 hospitals that take in outsized portions of Medicaid recipients, often in poorer urban areas.
For Republicans who passed the bill, the focus is on savings and eliminating waste.
性视界传媒淲hile this bill takes a significant step in helping modernize our healthcare system, I believe that more work will be done this Congress on the issue,性视界传媒 said U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, in a press release. Amodel voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Rep. Amodei added that Medicaid enrollment had exploded across the last 15 years, to an annual cost of $870 billion in 2023. The inflated price of the public healthcare system has been the primary rally for opponents of the program, but one that still has caused division among Republicans.
听性视界传媒淣evada has demonstrated that federal investment in the state性视界传媒檚 Medicaid program has improved both health outcomes and productivity, yet challenges remain,性视界传媒 Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, said in a February press release. He urged the federal government to maintain the program.
性视界传媒淏y leveraging federal funding, the state has expanded access to school health services, lowered the uninsured rate, and made significant progress in enhancing behavioral health care for both children and adults," Lombardo said.
He has not spoken about Medicaid since the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill, and his office did not respond to a request for comment by The Center Square.
Lombardo and Nevada性视界传媒檚 other leaders have yet to release a plan to deal with the Medicaid cuts.听
While many hospitals will be at risk of closure, others will look to stay afloat by shifting the cost to privately insured people.听
性视界传媒淚f they性视界传媒檙e getting less from Medicaid, they性视界传媒檙e going to charge people with private insurance more, and that性视界传媒檚 going to increase premiums for people who have private insurance," said Wofford, 性视界传媒淚t really affects everybody 性视界传媒 you can性视界传媒檛 squeeze 20% of the health care population, and expect it to have zero effect on the rest of the population.性视界传媒
Wofford added that states like Nevada will have to make one of a few financially unsavory choices in the wake of the Medicaid change.听
性视界传媒淚t can be a decrease in funding for the providers, it can mean further cuts in coverage because they can性视界传媒檛 cover everybody, it can be cuts in other parts of the state budget like transportation and education, which are pretty heavy budget items. Or it can mean increases in taxes on the population性视界传媒 It性视界传媒檚 difficult to tell exactly how each state will react," Wofford said.
