May 1, 2025
Threatened cuts by the Federal government could significantly affect how healthcare is delivered in Minnesota, top state healthcare officials said in an online forum held May 1.
With the passage of the House budget resolution targeting cuts of $880 billion to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the state is preparing for drastic reduction in federal funds. Minnesota is already facing a budget deficit in the coming years, yet it is projected that Minnesota will lose $1.6 billion in Federal funding each of the next 10 years, said John Connolly, deputy commissioner and state Medicaid director with the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
He said if these cuts go through, the state will be forced to reduce spending in one of three ways: the state will have to cut healthcare services or reduce eligibility for Minnesotans or reduce payments to providers.
He said these cuts will disproportionately affect Black, Native American, Latin and Asian Minnesotans, as well as patients in rural parts of the state, since a greater percentage of Medical Assistance (MA) enrollees come from these populations. And the long-term effects to children (41% of Minnesota children are on MA) could be profound. “Kids who have access to Medicaid have better health outcomes as adults,” Connolly said.
Earlier this year, the Federal government threatened to revoke more than $220 million in previously approved federal funding to the Minnesota Department of Health. Recently, a federal district court in Rhode Island placed a temporary restraining order on the revocation. Cunningham said these dollars were positioned as “Covid dollars” but, in fact, they are needed to fund the state’s public health infrastructure, including the state’s Health Information Exchange, waste-water surveillance, and community clinics, just to name a few.
“(The health department has) a breadth of work,” Cunningham said. “And much of it depends on Federal funding.” Cunningham expressed frustration that the long-standing partner of the Federal government has become an unreliable partner.
MMA President Edwin Bogonko, MD, MBA, served as moderator for the hour-long forum.
For more information on Medicaid cuts and how you can help, visit the MMA’s Protect Medicaid Access webpage.
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