On February 25, the US House passed a sweeping budget plan that seeks $4.5 trillion in tax cuts along with increased spending for defense and border security.
If proposed federal budget cuts materialize, Georgia’s nonprofit sector stands to lose billions, and the people of Georgia will lose even more in increased costs, lower service availability, and worsening health outcomes.
To partially pay for these cuts, the plan requires certain congressional committees to find $2 trillion in spending reductions over the next 10 years. Although the plan does not explicitly target Medicaid, $880 billion in reductions were assigned to the Energy and Commerce Committee, which includes the Subcommittee on Health. The Health Subcommittee handles the health sector broadly, including public and private health insurance, (the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP), mental health, drug abuse, the 340B drug discount program, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), NIH, CDC, regulation of food and drugs, and more.
Despite the array of programs under the Committee’s purview, it is widely understood by both Republicans and Democrats that there is little chance of achieving the required spending reductions without cutting Medicaid as well as other social safety net programs.
To put these cuts in perspective: In Georgia, 2 million children and adults rely on Medicaid and CHIP for an array of health services, from routine baby exams and pregnancy care to nursing homes for seniors. Last year alone, thousands of Georgians were served through a network of substance abuse programs, mental health centers, and crisis and suicide hotlines; thousands more used services for developmentally disabled children and adults. Georgia’s seniors rely on HHS programs for an array of programs like nursing homes and home health services: In fact, 70 percent of nursing home residents in Georgia utilize Medicaid to cover their care expenses. SNAP food assistance, also at risk, serves 1.7 million Georgians – primarily children.
The fact is that Georgia’s nonprofit organizations provide the lion’s share of medical and safety net services. One hundred of Georgia’s 175 hospitals are nonprofits. Thirty percent of Georgia’s 350 licensed nursing homes are nonprofits. Every one of Georgia’s 230 community health clinics operated by Federally Qualified Health Centers are nonprofits. The majority of crisis lines, like GCAL (Georgia Crisis and Access Line), are operated by nonprofits. Despite federal food assistance like SNAP, one in eight Georgians are food insecure, and Georgia’s nonprofit foodbanks fill this gap – providing more than 110 million meals annually to seniors, children, and working families.
Federal dollars underpin the health services that all Georgians rely on. Without them, emergency rooms will be overrun, more community hospitals and clinics will close, and communities will experience the impact of fewer safety net services directly as unmet needs spill over into our schools, streets, and public spaces. Affluent Georgians too will feel the effects too in longer ER wait times for anyone suffering a heart attack, car wreck, or any urgent, unforeseeable health event. And if enhanced ACA subsidies are allowed to expire in December, KFF estimates indicate that insurance rates for the 1.2M covered Georgians will rise substantially over the next 3 years – up to 165 percent for 40-year-olds and 300 percent for 60-year-olds on a silver plan in Georgia.
Congress is using a fast-track budget reconciliation process (see the process here), but there is still time to act. The Energy and Commerce Committee and the Health Subcommittee will be meeting shortly to “find” $880 billion in cuts, as instructed. Following that, Congress must work out differences in the House and Senate bills before the final version heads to the President’s desk.
As of December 2024, Representative Buddy Carter (GA-01) serves as the Chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Buddy Carter can be reached at following phone numbers:
Washington, D.C. Office: (202) 225-5831
Savannah District Office: (912) 352-0101
You can also use the contact form on his website if you are located in his district (you will need to provide an appropriate ZIP code).
It will also help to contact your own U.S. congressional representative, which you can look up here.
Your voice matters. You can make a difference with five minutes of your time and two phone calls. Call Buddy Carter and your representative. Let them know what this means to your life and your community.
For more information on the evolving federal policy situation and what your nonprofit can do to adapt, please visit our US Policy Changes Resource Hub.
Karen Beavor is President and CEO of GCN.
