Medicaid cuts could hit us all

Deep cuts to Medicaid being pushed by President Donald Trump’s administration and Republicans in Congress could do real damage to public services and to the jobs of AFSCME members in Illinois.   

Federal Medicaid dollars help to fund hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, state veterans’ homes, substance use disorder treatment centers, and other health care providers.

Medicaid also provides health insurance coverage for more than 3.4 million Illinoisans, of which 44% are children, 9% are seniors, and 7% are adults with disabilities.

Medicaid dollars are the largest source of federal funding for state budgets. If these dollars dry up, states will have little choice but to slash budgets and jobs for a broad range of other vital services.

Illinois received more than $20 billion from the federal government for Medicaid spending in fiscal year 2024 alone. Medicaid cuts could directly hit state developmental centers, funding for behavioral health services, and community-based agencies that care for people with disabilities.

“We care for developmentally disabled people, and federal Medicaid dollars keep us open, fund our jobs, and keep our individuals safe,” said Jarred Harshman, a mental health technician II and president of AFSCME Local 172 at Mabley Developmental Center in Dixon. “Cutting Medicaid is a real scary thing for us, our future and the individuals that we care for.”

To prevent such dire consequences, legislators could cut other state agencies and functions, such as child protective services, environmental protection or corrections.

Federal funding for other vital programs and services of state government are also being slashed by the Trump administration, including public health and veterans’ assistance.

Local governments would feel the pain, too. In Cook County, Medicaid pays most of the cost of the CountyCare program that allows the county Hospital & Health System to serve half a million low-income uninsured people.

“People are afraid of not having health care coverage. If funding for our programs stops, where would our patients go for primary care, specialists like orthopedists and gynecologists, ultrasounds, x-rays? We’re the only hospital that offers charitable care like this,” said Kimberly Martin, president of AFSCME Local 1178 at Cook County Hospital and a caseworker/patient financial counselor. “Plus, if that money is not coming in, we’d be looking at possible layoffs.”

Republicans want to cut Medicaid and use the money to pay for massive tax breaks for billionaires like Musk. Martin thinks that’s unfair. “The ones with the most money need to be the ones taking the cuts,” she said. “The cuts they’re making only affect working-class people. How will 
we provide for our families?”

AFSCME members are fighting back. On Wednesday, March 19, union members and retirees participated in a nationwide Medicaid Day of Action, blitzing Members of Congress with tens of thousands of emails and phone calls all sending the same message: “No cuts to Medicaid to pay for billionaire tax breaks!”