Louisiana’s community health centers are bracing for unprecedented disruption if Congress follows through on the deep federal Medicaid cuts now embedded in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill.
That’s according to Raegan Carter, director of health policy and governmental affairs for the Louisiana Primary Care Association, who told the Press Club of Baton Rouge on Monday that the proposed cuts have the potential to trigger a full-blown health care crisis in the Louisiana communities that depend most on the federal program.
“Clinics will close, rural hospitals will close, individuals will lose access and people will die. … That is the harsh reality,” Carter said.
At press time, the sweeping bill was making its way through the Senate, with a final vote expected Monday. If the Senate approves the bill, it heads back to the House, where votes are scheduled to begin July 2.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Senate version of the bill would see federal health care spending drop by more than $1.1 trillion by 2034, with more than $1 trillion of those cuts coming from Medicaid alone. The legislation would leave 11.8 million people uninsured by that same year—900,000 more than would have lost coverage under the House’s previous version of the bill.
The stakes are high nationwide but especially so in Medicaid-heavy states like Louisiana. More than 1.6 million Louisianans, or roughly 35% of the state’s population, rely on Medicaid for health care. Only one other state, New Mexico, is more dependent on federal Medicaid dollars, Carter said.
The Senate bill would cost Louisiana some $4 billion in Medicaid funds, forcing the state to either fill in the gap—something Carter is skeptical could even happen—or cut services.
“If we lose that money, where is it going to come from?” Carter asked. “The state budget is not going to be able to handle that deficit, and Louisiana residents will lose their Medicaid.”
Carter is one of many voices across the state cautioning against the proposed cuts. Late last week, the heads of seven major hospital systems and health care organizations in Louisiana penned an open letter urging Congress to avoid gutting Medicaid funding, and earlier this month, the state Senate passed a resolution urging much the same.
“The Louisiana Legislature passed the resolution with overwhelming bipartisan support,” Carter said. “The resolution said, ‘Please do not cut Medicaid. Our state cannot afford it.’”
Established in 1982, LPCA is the self-described “voice of Louisiana’s community health centers.” The nonprofit represents dozens of Federally Qualified Health Centers, or FQHCs, across the state, which collectively serve more than 503,000 patients per year.
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