Rep. Jayapal laments 'terrible choice' between shutdown, looming health care cuts in WA

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Seattle) said Friday that her party faces a "terrible choice" between forcing the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1 or allowing Republican-backed cuts to health benefits to take effect.

During a press conference at a public health center in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood, Jayapal said without further negotiations with Republicans, 328,000 Washington State residents could lose their health insurance as a result of the tax and spending bill passed in July, and another 288,000 residents will see a steep increase in health insurance premiums if subsidies related to the Affordable Care Act expire at the end of this year.

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"We are determined to use our leverage," Jayapal said of congressional Democrats, adding that trust between the parties is at a low ebb. "We actually need ironclad guarantees on whatever deal we come to that they won’t just go and slash an agency or slash funding."

But she said she has hope that President Donald Trump will realize cutting Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies "is incredibly unpopular."

At the press conference, Tacoma resident Bronti Lemke, with the organization Moms Rising, said she relied on federal Medicaid benefits to obtain addiction treatment, enabling her to raise her son and attend college – but now, people are afraid of losing their eligibility.

"I have already seen the impact of looming cuts," Lemke said. "It is incredibly hard to get medical appointments and treatment now as everybody is trying to get care ahead of the cuts. The shutdown has made that uncertainty even worse."

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Jennifer Bereskin-SeaMonster, an enrolled member of the Qawalangin tribe of Unalaska, said she has "lived in poverty my entire life" and has been reliant on Medicaid. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, Bereskin-SeaMonster said the disease has been in remission for the last five years thanks to monthly drug infusions, which she said costs between $5,000 and $8,000 per month without insurance.

As "somebody in poverty," she said, "I would never be able to afford such a medication. And without this medication, I would never be able to pursue my reattempt to go back to work.”

Dr. Sandra Valenciano, health officer for Public Health – Seattle and King County, said people on Apple Health, the state’s Medicaid program, are "in a scary and very confusing time right now."

"Many of you are so worried about losing your health insurance," Valenciano said. "I want to reassure you that your Medicaid still works, and the changes on the horizon aren’t slated to take effect for at least a year. We really encourage you to continue to seek care when you need it."

King County Executive Shannon Braddock said without Affordable Care Act subsidies, 67,000 King County residents would no longer be able to afford health insurance. In that case, Braddock said, local healthcare systems would be strained and public clinics would face higher demand.

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"Clinics are already at capacity and with fewer patients insured clinics will see more and more unpaid and expensive visits," Braddock added. "This will add strain to our already limited budgets."

Meanwhile, she said the federal government shutdown could soon affect 25,000 families countywide who receive baby formula and food through the Women, Infants, and Children program.

"These WIC benefits are slated to run out in one to two weeks if the government shutdown continues," she said. "And loss of that federal funding means that, starting Monday, our state Department of Health has announced temporary furloughs and layoffs of 50 employees who support those services."

Braddock urged congressional Republicans to negotiate with Democrats over impending cuts to federal health care and food programs.

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As the shutdown took effect this week, Washington state’s two House Republicans condemned Senate Democrats for causing a stopgap funding bill to fail. Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane) called Democrats’ demands "unrealistic."

"Democrat leadership should take a step back from this reckless course," Baumgartner said in a statement.

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Sunnyside) said Democrats are "playing politics and threatening to pause pay for military service members, and federal programs Central Washingtonians rely on."