Hundreds of healthcare workers demand action from state leaders as cuts are planned for Medicaid

"We deserve a bold change," said Jesse Martin, Executive Vice President of SEIU 1199 NE. "Today is the beginning of what I call a health care worker's revolution in the State of Rhode Island."

Hundreds of union healthcare workers and community allies gathered at the State House on Saturday to demand that elected leaders protect vital healthcare services in the state budget amid the threat of huge federal cuts. They announced that nearly 3,000 Rhode Islanders have signed a no-confidence petition in Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee’s handling of the healthcare crisis in the current state budget.

Nearly 3,000 Rhode Islanders have signed a no-confidence petition in Governor McKee’s handling of the healthcare crisis in the current state budget.

“I have worked at Providence Community Health Center for nine years, but have been a patient there since I was a child,” said Celia Ortiz, Medical Assistant at Providence Community Health Center. “Thousands of Rhode Islanders 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, but the question is, will they find the courage to act?”

Currently, Congress and the Trump Administration are considering the largest cuts to Medicaid in American history, which will cut off healthcare coverage for up to 5.2 million Americans and throw the healthcare system into chaos. Medicaid provides health services to over 300,000 low-income Rhode Islanders, funding for two-thirds of nursing home residents, and supported the birth of 44% of Rhode Island’s babies in 2023. If federal Medicaid cuts go through, nearly 40,000 Rhode Islanders would lose their healthcare, and the state would shed 3,500 jobs, with 1,800 in healthcare alone.

In the face of such cuts, Governor McKee’s proposed healthcare budget could further harm healthcare workers and patients. His proposal:

• Cuts $25 million in funding to Rhode Island hospitals, including bypassing the required yearly Medicaid reimbursement rate, which is already lower than in 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 from 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,” said Ashley Ouellette-Hodde, a Registered Nurse at Butler Hospital, Inpatient Float Pool. “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 is not there to meet the need?”

In the face of these converging cuts, rally participants called for a transformative healthcare budget that protects and invests in Medicaid and raises revenue through tax hikes on the wealthiest Rhode Islanders. This could include a new 3% surtax for the top 1% in income on taxable income above $625,000, generating an estimated $190 million in new revenue. A new study by the Institute for Policy Studies shows that a 2% tax on Rhode Island individuals with a net worth of $ 50 million or more could raise $700 million in the state.