FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2025
Contact: Marie Johnson
WASHINGTON, DC — The Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) and its members held a virtual briefing to discuss the impact of proposed Congressional cuts to federal Medicaid funding. CHA President and CEO Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM, moderated the panel discussion alongside Ascension President Eduardo Conrado, Providence President and CEO Erik Wexler, Trinity Health President and CEO Mike Slubowski, and Joe Hodges, Regional Lead Executive and President for SSM Health.
The panelists provided unique insights into the acute impacts that proposed cuts to Medicaid funding would have on the vulnerable communities, families, and individuals that Catholic health systems serve across the country, as well as the broader impacts on Americans’ access to vital health care services.
Sr. Mary Haddad, President and CEO, Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA):
“Protecting and strengthening Medicaid is not just sound policy, it's a moral imperative to ensure continued access to care for those who need it most. Congress has a moral obligation to consider the real and harmful consequences these proposals would have on our nation's healthcare safety net and the impact on the lives of America's most vulnerable individuals. Medicaid is not just a health program; it's a lifeline. It provides access to care for those in our nation who need it most — the poor and vulnerable, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and disabled individuals — while ensuring their dignity. Congress should not take America down a dangerous path of drastically reducing access to health care in the United States.”
Eduardo Conrado, President, Ascension:
“Medicaid is not a handout. It's a safety net that ensures children, seniors, low-income families, and people with disabilities get basic healthcare. These are not just policy issues, but they're personal — they involve people, our neighbors...That's what's at stake: real people, real families, real outcomes, and we cannot have that taken away,” “Let me be clear: Ascension supports the effort to remove fraud, waste, abuse and public progress, but this proposal does not do that...it creates unnecessary red tape which causes eligible people to lose coverage because of paperwork problems and system errors.”
Erik Wexler, President and CEO, Providence:
“Medicaid is not a welfare program, and at Providence, we serve in seven states and have a significant impact on the communities we serve. 30 percent of our support for our communities is for people who are on Medicaid. When Medicaid suffers, the entire country suffers because people who are dependent on having access for preventative care need this type of coverage. If we end up closing programs and services because the affordability of maintaining them diminishes, then those of us that aren't on Medicaid...will not be able to have access to that care, because those programs will no longer be there.”
Mike Slubowski, President and CEO, Trinity Health:
“We can't cut hundreds of billions from Medicaid without hurting people and weakening our communities. We've seen it firsthand. Even at the current coverage and funding levels, Medicaid payments are below our cost of delivering care to these members by well over $500 million a year, let alone any additional reductions contemplated by Congress. Our estimates suggest that we're at risk of operating losses exceeding $1 billion per year if a significant number of those we serve lose their health care coverage, combined with the proposed reductions in Medicaid payments. Medicaid, while not perfect, is a medical and social safety net that's a fundamental responsibility of government to serve communities.”
Joe Hodges, Regional Lead Executive and President, SSM Health:
“It’s a rural healthcare crisis. Any reduction in access or funding makes these hospitals even more vulnerable. Rural healthcare also bears the highest burden of chronic disease, 30 points higher for obesity, 20 for premature death, and 25 percent of all U.S. veterans live in rural communities. These people matter. They deserve care, and we must advocate for them — for their dignity, their health and their future. When people need us, we are there. That's why we're in Catholic health care.”
To listen to the full briefing, please click HERE.
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About the Catholic Health Association
The Catholic Health Association of the United States represents the largest group of nonprofit health care providers in the nation, including over 600 hospitals and 1,600 long-term care and other health facilities. Guided by the principles of the Catholic Church, CHA is dedicated to creating a just health care system that prioritizes the needs of the most vulnerable and underserved populations.
About Ascension
Ascension is one of the nation’s leading non-profit and Catholic health systems, with a Mission of delivering compassionate, personalized care to all with special attention to those most vulnerable. In FY2024, Ascension provided $2.1 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Across 16 states and the District of Columbia, Ascension’s network encompasses approximately 106,000 associates, 26,000 aligned providers, 105 wholly owned or consolidated hospitals, and 34 senior living facilities. Additionally, through strategic partnerships, Ascension holds an ownership interest in 26 other hospitals.
About Providence
Together, our 125,000 caregivers (all employees) serve in 51 hospitals, 1,014 clinics and a comprehensive range of health and social services across Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington. As a comprehensive health care organization, we are serving more people, advancing best practices and continuing our more than 100-year tradition of serving the poor and vulnerable. Delivering services across seven states, Providence is committed to touching millions of more lives and enhancing the health of the American West to transform care for the next generation and beyond.
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs.
About SSM Health
Nationally recognized for quality and innovation, SSM Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit, fully integrated health system working to advance health equity and empower all people to achieve their full potential.
With care delivery sites in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, SSM Health provides convenient access to high-quality community-based services as well as world-class academic medicine, clinical trials, and research studies. The organization’s footprint includes hospitals, physician offices, outpatient and virtual care services, senior care, comprehensive home care and hospice services, a fully transparent pharmacy benefit company, a health insurance company and an accountable care organization.