Health system CEO pens op-ed opposing Medicaid cuts

Cutting Medicaid will harm urban and rural communities and drive up the cost of everyone’s care, says Elaine Batchlor, MPH, MD, CEO of MLK Community Healthcare, Los Angeles. In an editorial, Batchlor says Medicaid cuts “won’t make health care more accessible, affordable or efficient for anyone” because “when one part of the system struggles or fails, the burden is shifted to other parts of the system.” Cutting Medicaid for the 20% of the population that relies on it will decrease access to physicians and services in urban and rural communities. Patients will delay care until they visit emergency departments with advanced diseases. Providers who get paid less for Medicaid patients will compensate by charging privately insured individuals more for care, she argues. (The Hill opinion article, 3/16/25)