Cuts to Medicaid Proposed by Congressional Republicans Would Have a Devastating Impact on Health Care Access for Central Washington Residents - Families USA Skip to Main Content
03.19.2025 / Press Release

Cuts to Medicaid Proposed by Congressional Republicans Would Have a Devastating Impact on Health Care Access for Central Washington Residents

Families USA’s New Fact Sheet Highlights Importance of Medicaid for WA-04’s Families

YAKIMA, WA – A new fact sheet details the impacts of deep cuts to the Medicaid program in the Republican budget proposal that Rep. Dan Newhouse voted for, which would have devastating consequences for the health and economic security of Central Washington. Medicaid provides health care coverage for nearly 300,000 Washingtonians in the Central Washington, including nearly 150,000 children, according to a new fact sheet from Families USA. This congressional district has the highest Medicaid enrollment in the state.

Americans have been showing up in townhalls, calling their representatives in Congress and demanding that Republicans in Washington, D.C. stop their plan to massively cut the health care that Americans want and need,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA. “The proposed deep cuts to Medicaid would be devastating for Central Washington residents, resulting in significant coverage losses, forcing rural hospitals, long-term care facilities or community clinics to close or scale back services, and throwing state budgets into crisis. We should all be asking every member of Congress who voted for this budget why they are willing to harm working families in their own district just to pay for a tax break for billionaires.”

Medicaid is a lifeline for Central Washington:

  • Nearly 300,000 people — 38% of all residents living in WA-04 have Medicaid, the highest enrollment in the state.
  • Nearly 150,000 children are on Medicaid — 70% of all children in WA-04.
  • At least 37,100 seniors and people with disabilities have Medicaid coverage.

Families in Washington Already Struggle to Pay for Health Care:

  • 57% report avoiding needed medical treatment or filling prescriptions due to cost.
  • 63% report being unable to pay an unexpected $500 medical bill.
  • One in three have medical debt.

Families USA, the longtime health care consumer advocate, is organizing with groups in Washington and across the nation to protect Medicaid from severe cuts, caps or other regulations that will result in millions of Americans losing access to the health care they need. Earlier this year, Families USA led hundreds of organizations to call on Congress and the Trump administration to reject cuts to Medicaid and work to make health care more affordable, not less.

For additional resources, see Families USA’s fact sheets on how work reporting requirements would undermine access to Medicaid, how cuts harm families and communities, and the overall importance of Medicaid to people, the economy and the health care system.

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