'Inexpressibly grateful': Utah advocates call to protect Medicaid from cuts

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah patient advocates are warning of pending cuts to Medicaid coverage next year under the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act approved by Congress last summer.

A group known as the Protect Medicaid Coalition is also speaking out in opposition to a proposed federal regulation that would create stricter work requirements for patients who receive the government-funded healthcare program, which some say will make it harder for people to get coverage.

West Valley City resident Brenda Oluwalana is a single mother of five who nearly lost sight in one of her eyes several years ago after she suffered a retinal separation that required two surgeries to repair.

"I had tears in my retinas, both of them, and without treatment, I would have been completely blind in my right eye and lost at least half of my vision in my left," she said. "I'd like you to all think exactly what that means: complete dependence on others. Suddenly not driving, not cooking, not reading, not volunteering, not doing any of the countless little tiny things that add up to an independent life."

Oluwalana said she feels "inexpressibly grateful that (Medicaid) was there for me," but is blunt about how she might fare had the cuts that take effect next year been in place several years ago.

"I would be blind," she told KSL.

Oluwalana spoke to reporters at a press conference Thursday along with several advocates and other patients who have benefited from Medicaid. While the changes passed in last year's spending bill have made headlines for months, the Protect Medicaid Coalition is also speaking against a proposed rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that narrows the group of those who are exempt from new work requirements because they are deemed "medically frail."

The rule could "increase barriers for individuals to obtaining and maintaining coverage, leading to more people falling through the cracks and becoming uninsured," according to a June analysis by KFF. A report from the Congressional Budget Office estimates that some 7.5 million Americans could lose healthcare coverage due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by 2034.

That could have impacts that extend to those not directly impacted by losing insurance, according to Lorena Horse, CEO of Sacred Circle Healthcare, which treats a significant number of Medicaid patients in clinics in Salt Lake City, West Valley City and in the Deep Creek Indian Reservation in western Tooele County.

"Reductions in Medicaid funding does not eliminate healthcare needs, it simply shifts costs to emergency rooms, hospitals and taxpayers in other areas," she said.

Sacred Circle clinics have already seen about a 20% reduction in Medicaid appointments in recent years, according to Horse, and the extra hoops patients will need to jump through to qualify going forward will likely mean clinic staff will spend more time helping those patients navigate the system. Sacred Circle has already begun reassigning some staff for administrative work, Horse said.

"They are now assisting with Medicaid administrative requirements instead of direct patient care," she said. "These administrative burdens will only increase once Medicaid changes go into effect.

Nate Crippes, public affairs supervising attorney at the Disability Law Center, said the proposed federal rule "goes much further than the law required and will definitely lead to people losing access to coverage." He said the impacts will be felt disproportionately by Americans living with disabilities.

"If we are serious about addressing the needs of people with disabilities, mental illness and substance use disorders, then Utah policymakers must stand up against an interim final rule that goes too far and threatens the independence and dignity and health of people with disabilities," he said.

Oluwalana said Medicaid recipients like her have benefited from "continuous, unglamorous care" that can prevent permanent problems like she nearly faced.

"Next time someone tells you this is just a number on a spreadsheet: It is somebody's vision. It was my vision," she said. "What do we owe to each other? The answer isn't found in speeches; it's found in budgets, policies and priorities. They reveal whether we see one another as burdens to manage or as neighbors to support."

She added that she is "inexpressibly grateful that Medicaid has been there for me."

"I hope that it will be around for the many who depend on it for life," she said.

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