Slashing Medicaid would have a drastic impact on our neediest Missouri neighbors | Opinion

Across the country, Medicaid is a safety net for more than 72 million people. In Missouri, more than 1.3 million adults, children, people with disabilities and pregnant individuals rely on Medicaid to access essential health care services that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. Proposals to implement cuts and other structural changes to Medicaid would therefore have grave consequences for patients and families in Missouri — while doing absolutely nothing to lower health care costs.

As a family physician in Missouri, I can tell you that it’s truly hard to find fault with Medicaid. I’ve seen firsthand the positive impact it has on my patients’ lives. Here are a few proof points why this program is so important in our state:

Medicaid pays for 40% of births in Missouri, covers 36% of all Missouri children, pays for 65% of nursing home residents and is the largest source of funding for mental health and substance use care in Missouri. This means Medicaid helps ensure access to prenatal, maternity and postpartum care. It insures children in low-income families and children in foster care and provides nursing home and community-based services for older adults and people with disabilities.

Here’s what I know to be true: Any cuts to Medicaid will negatively affect the people in Missouri who need it the most. Rural health care is already under fire in the state, making Medicaid a critical avenue to health coverage for children and families in these underserved areas. Rural communities, where people are more likely to be uninsured and face challenges in accessing care, need fully funded Medicaid.

In my town, in this state, Medicaid coverage has consistently improved health outcomes at the individual, family and community levels, in the short term and over the long haul. Whether you are seeking maternal care, dental care, vaccination against harmful diseases, trying to keep up with cancer screenings or setting up end-of-life care for a loved one, chances are Medicaid is what makes your care possible.

As our senators on Capitol Hill debate cutting Medicaid funding, I want to highlight why we must work to preserve this program at all costs.

First, I know that slashing already-low Medicaid payment rates would make it even harder for physicians in Missouri to provide care to people covered under the program. Instead, such cuts would ultimately increase health care costs as patients are forced to forgo vital preventive care. And I know that reducing funding or further restricting eligibility for Medicaid would not only limit access to care, but also exacerbate existing health disparities, leading to poorer health outcomes and increased health care costs in the long term.

Furthermore, cutting Medicaid would cause a domino effect on health care in Missouri in the worst way possible. As patients lose Medicaid coverage and access to care, more rural hospitals, physician practices, clinics and nursing homes will be forced to close. With these closures, a substantial number of health care workers will lose their jobs. Given that health care is a major employer in rural areas and across our state, this would be detrimental to our economy.

Moreover, as costs are shifted out of Medicaid, all insured patients across the health care system would experience higher insurance premiums. Medicaid cuts would put patients (across all insurers) and states between a rock and a hard place — forcing patients to choose between getting health care or putting food on the table, and forcing states to choose between cutting services or raising taxes.

My job as a family physician is to provide health care for all patients — from veterans, to infants, to sick children, to loved ones in nursing homes. That’s why I’m asking leaders in Missouri to reject Medicaid funding cuts. As Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt prepare to vote on the federal budget during the reconciliation process, I urge them to heed the calls of Missourians across the state and recognize that Medicaid is not a handout but a lifeline. Voting to cut it would leave our patients out in the cold and move our state backward.

Please, Senators, don’t stifle Missourians’ access to health care.