Nearly 3,000 Rhode Islanders Vote No Confidence in Governor McKee’s Healthcare Budget
“I have worked at Providence Community Health Center for nine years but have been a patient there since I was a child. Thousands of Rhode Islanders just like me rely on community clinics for their most basic to their most chronic needs but we have been fighting an uphill battle over funding for years. Last year, we lost an entire department of 50 staff and new Medicaid cuts will mean more layoffs and people losing access to preventative care. We know our elected leaders can find a way to fund our clinics, the question is - will they find the courage to act?”
- Celia Ortiz, Medical Assistant at Providence Community Health Center
In the face of such devastating cuts, Governor McKee’s proposed healthcare budget could further harm healthcare workers and patients. His proposal:
- Cuts $25 million in funding to RI hospitals, including bypassing the required yearly Medicaid reimbursement rate, which is already lower than Massachusetts and Connecticut.
- Fails to provide the needed funding to keep Community Health Centers open to over 150,000 Rhode Islanders. The threat of Medicaid cuts on top of an already low reimbursement rate could mean widespread layoffs and disruption of care.
- Guts the Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act by lowering the required direct care hours per resident and redirecting Medicaid funding meant for caregivers to managers.
When I hear about the threat of cuts, I think about the ripple effect of what could happen across our hospital and the rest of the hospitals in Rhode Island. If we cut staff in the dietary department, our patients won’t eat well enough and injuries in the kitchen will increase. If we cut down on environmental services our hospital won’t be as safe and clean for our patients to heal. Wait times are already crazy at the ERs because people are going there for non-emergency needs since their primary care offices are closing. What will happen if that demand continues to spike and the amount of providers are not there to meet the need?
Ashley Ouellette-Hodde, a Registered Nurse at Butler Hospital, Inpatient Float Pool
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District 1199 SEIU New England represents 29,000 health care and service workers in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Southeastern Massachusetts. In Rhode Island, 1199 SEIU NE represents almost 5,000 members. 1199 SEIU NE is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – a union of over 2 million members across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. SEIU has been a national leader in pushing the growing Fight for $15 and a Union movement.
