As Medicaid cuts hurt Pierce County, the community is filling gaps | Opinion

This is shaping up to be the year when America’s safety net frays faster than at any point in recent history. Hard-won gains in healthcare access are at risk, leading indicators of health and wellness will likely worsen, and new barriers and obstacles litter the road ahead.

Cuts to Apple Health (Medicaid), more frequent eligibility checks, new work requirements, the loss of continuous coverage for children ages 0–6, dramatic reductions in coverage for immigrants and refugees (including lawfully present non-citizens), and rising premiums on the Health Benefit Exchange will cause immense harm to individuals and families in Pierce County and across our state. The Washington state Department of Health estimates 50% of people who lose Medicaid coverage will forgo necessary medical care due to fear of medical debt and about 50% will rely on charity care.

When people lose health insurance, they’re forced to delay routine care, often until their conditions become so serious that they end up in emergency rooms far sicker than they would have been with access to a primary care doctor. As a result, the number of uncompensated care emergency room visits rise sharply, straining the financial stability of our local hospitals and driving up insurance costs for everyone. It’s a slow-moving crisis, and we’re watching it unfold in real time.

If you believe, as I do, that health is a fundamental human right, this situation can feel overwhelming. And yet, across Pierce County, people are refusing to accept a future where care is conditional. Our healthcare and social service sectors are uniting to meet these complicated challenges together.

Nonprofit organizations like Trinity Neighborhood Clinic in Tacoma and Lindquist Dental Clinic in Parkland are providing quality and compassionate care to Pierce Couty residents who cannot afford to access healthcare, regardless of their household’s ability to pay.

Concerned members of the local healthcare community have formed the Pierce County Health Care Access Workgroup to share ideas and strategies in anticipation of the growing care access crisis. I attended a recent meeting and was inspired by the physicians who are raising the rallying cry with hospitals, health centers, public health, and insurance providers to organize, collaborate and respond together across sectors.

At Elevate Health, we believe that community-based health workers and navigators have a vital role to play in care access. Over the past year, we’ve doubled the number of partner organizations contracted with our Connect Pierce community care hub, and we now proudly support more than 80 community‑based health workers across Pierce County who provide free care coordination and resource navigation services to thousands of local individuals and families.

I’m heartened by our collective belief in Pierce County that every member of our community deserves the basic dignity of health, but belief alone won’t carry us through what’s ahead. The answers to these questions won’t be found by operating in silos. Rather, they’ll emerge as we gather around crowded tables to address this crisis together. We will meet this moment as we always have — by drawing on our grit, innovation and resilience. That is the Pierce County way.

Gena Morgan is the executive director of Elevate Health, a Tacoma-based nonprofit collaborative of organizations working together across sectors to align, connect and strengthen Pierce County’s health and social care systems.