Rep. Mike Levin vows to fight for restored Medicaid coverage

United States Rep for California s th Congressional District Mike Levin speaks at a press conference expressing frustration over Medicaid cuts Photo by Gabrielle Wallace Times of San Diego United States Rep Mike Levin held a press conference on Tuesday to speak out against cuts to Medicaid and other vitality care programs One day before the th anniversary of Medicaid on July Levin was joined by wellness care industry leaders and patients to share the budget bill s ramifications on San Diego Sixty years ago our country made a promise that if you got sick and needed vitality care coverage you shouldn t be left to fend for yourself It s a pretty basic promise and for years it has given life saving access to robustness care services for millions and millions of Americans Levin noted But in current times that promise is at exposure as it has not been in a very long time The One Big Beautiful Bill was passed on July The bill includes major changes to Medicaid that affect eligibility requirements for coverage The Center on Budget and Protocol Priorities a nonpartisan research and agenda institute stated Medicaid changes would have nationwide effects Because millions rely on Medicaid cuts could lead wellbeing care providers to limit services or leave the area if not enough patients are coming in leading to diminished wellness care access for an entire population According to the California Hospital Association which advocates for better and more accessible robustness care in California and represents more than hospitals throughout the state the budget bill will end in between billion and billion in Medicaid and Medicare revenue losses across California hospitals in the next decade The Tuesday press conference was held at the San Diego PACE building in Vista The Operation of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly or PACE is a division of San Ysidro Robustness a nonprofit providing affordable and accessible robustness care to families PACE serves adults years or older and according to Veronica Dela Rosa the interim chief executive officer for San Ysidro Medical roughly of PACE patients are on Medicaid San Ysidro Medical serves roughly patients meaning nearly people could lose access to care due to Medicaid cuts Let s be clear this is happening in our backyards here in Vista in Escondido and throughout the county These are our neighbors our patients and our loved ones Dela Rosa announced Rosa noted San Ysidro Medical has already seen seniors on fixed incomes entering PACE and alerting the staff to hunger Levin noted insurance premium notices could start going out as early as September alerting people to premium increases While the full effect of the budget bill won t hit until the end of according to Levin effects are already being felt in the neighborhood We may have to say no to people who truly need our help We ll lose trust we ll lose jobs and people will lose their lives I think what s really heartbreaking revealed Mary Jurgensen locality outreach director at Gary and Mary West PACE Press conference speakers aired their concerns for local strength coverage and the ramifications of the budget bill Almost all expressed worries regarding the increased cost of care probable hospital closures decreased services and longer wait times for care Specific even went as far as to say probable deaths though preventable may occur Levin announced every Californian will eventually feel the effects of the bill even if not enrolled in Medi-Cal When you think about this bill it keeps you up at night and what keeps me up at night is not only what it means for the healthcare district but really what it means for every American These cuts will have ripple effects that go far beyond Medi-Cal recipients Medicaid recipients and Obamacare Affordable Care Act recipients These cuts will touch and affect every single American disclosed Dr Melanie Wolf chief biological officer of Providence Mission Hospital Levin vowed to continue working to restore coverage to Medicaid recipients I m going to do everything I can to ensure that should we be so fortunate as to take the gavel back next November that we are able to work in good faith towards restoring Medicaid to millions of Americans he announced