.Jimmy Panetta Stresses Impacts of Budget Cuts on Local Health

Proposed cuts by the Trump administration would be devastating for new mothers, children, immigrants, seniors and lower- and middle-class community members, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-19th District), who represents much of Santa Cruz County, told a packed town hall meeting Friday.

Medicare and Medicaid are at risk of being cut by the federal government, Panetta warned. He brought up a panel of healthcare professionals to back his claims at a 9am meeting at Cabrillo College’s 270-seat Samper Recital Hall. The 90-minute talk was full and as many as 30 people were turned away.

Republicans in the House of Representatives have proposed cutting $880 billion from the federal budget and, according to Panetta, that would inevitably include cutting Medicare and Medicaid because 98% of that money goes to funding those programs.

Medicare provides insurance to people over 65 and Medicaid mainly covers disabled and low-income people. Medi-Cal is the California version of Medicaid.

Cutting those programs would hit Californians and Santa Cruz residents hard.

Anita Aguirre, CEO of Santa Cruz Community Health, said that Medi-Cal insures 15 million people in California–40% of the state’s population.

Donaldo Hernandez, a past president of the California Medical Association and physician at Palo Alto Medical Foundation, said that one in three Santa Cruz residents receive Medi-Cal coverage.

He added that 50% of childbirths in California are covered by Medi-Cal.

Aguirre estimated that if Medicare and Medicaid were rolled back, 60% of Santa Cruz Community Health patients would lose their health coverage. Community Health serves tens of thousands of patients in three county clinics, designed as a safety net for those in need.

“This policy change would significantly affect our ability to care for our patients who are the most vulnerable in our community,” she said.

This would also bring cuts to optional benefits such as dental, chiropractic and acupuncture. It would also greatly impact Santa Cruz County’s undocumented immigrant community, as many undocumented immigrants rely on Medi-Cal coverage.

Hernandez explained that if these programs are taken away, they will have to be paid for in other ways.

“Healthcare finance is not an inelastic thing,” he said, adding that people would likely see increases in out-of-pocket medical expenses, more expensive medications and higher deductibles.

“That’s not a sustainable system—for anybody,” Hernandez said. “Particularly where we live here, which is an expensive place just to live.”

Across the board, cutting Medicare and Medicaid would make patient care much harder.

“I can’t care about child health without caring about Medicaid,” said Ananta Addala, a pediatric endocrinologist and physician-scientist.

Addala, who works with children who suffer from chronic diseases, said that over half of the children in the U.S. receive some degree of medical coverage through Medicaid.

She said that people often associate Medicaid solely with low-income people, but that many of the children she works with come from middle-class families who would have to spend “well over half of their income” for access to the expensive equipment and medicines that Medicaid helps cover.

“In order to understand how far-reaching Medicaid is, it’s important to rewrite this narrative, ” Addala said.

Aguirre added that the drastic effects of cutting Medicare and Medicaid would only be worsened by the Trump Administration’s recent bans via executive order on gender-affirming care and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She said that although those bans aren’t directly related to Medicare and Medicaid, they are “just as dangerous.”

Panetta said he is “going to hold this administration accountable” and will work to prevent the House Republicans’ proposed $880 billion in cuts from being passed.

He pointed out that many of the California residents who receive Medi-Cal coverage reside in Republican districts. One of his goals is to motivate the constituents in those districts to reach out to their representatives and try to convince them to vote against the budget reconciliation bill that would end Medicare and Medicaid.

Constituents were notified of Panetta’s town hall only the day before it was held. No demonstrations or protests took place outside of the building, and unlike such meetings across the country, there was no shouting or disturbances.

However, some attendees distributed sets of green, yellow and red paper plates to hold up while Panetta spoke. The green plates read “Good Job,” the yellow plates read “Not Enough” and the red ones said “Talk Less.” Attendees held up these plates throughout the meeting, alternately facing them toward Panetta and toward the audience.

PQ: Cutting those programs would hit Californians and Santa Cruz residents hard.