In late July, about 80 people gathered at the Henry Beauchamp Community Center in Yakima to learn more about how future cuts to Medicaid could affect them.
At the forum that followed, they heard from a panel of 10 stakeholders explaining how the $911 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade would affect their community.
That gathering was just the latest in local community organizing efforts that have emerged in response to Republicans’ plans to make massive budget cuts to the government health insurance program as well as nutrition assistance and other federally operated services. The legislation also makes several tax cuts permanent and includes funding for different government programs, such as ones in agriculture.
For months, community organizers and health care workers have been fighting to increase awareness of how the cuts will impact Yakima and the rest of Central Washington. In the 2024 fiscal year, 40% of residents in the 4th Congressional District were on Apple Health, the state’s Medicaid program. Among those under 19, the percentage of those insured under Medicaid was a whopping 70%.
But while House Resolution 1, or The Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in early July, made the massive Medicaid cuts law, advocates across the Northwest see the timing as an opportunity to mobilize and organize around the importance of Medicaid coverage.
Christina Serabia, a member of the group that organized the Yakima forum, said many residents are just now discovering the impact of upcoming Medicaid cuts; for some, just finding out that Apple Health and Medicaid are one and the same came as a surprise.
Serabia and her fellow volunteers organized the forum to engage the community in the fight for health care access. That means reaching out to local and state leaders involved in deciding how reduced Medicaid funds are used. The event also provided voter registration for attendees.
“Yes, [the bill has] passed, but there are a lot more pieces where we as citizens can intervene and have our voice be heard,” she said. “We need to make ourselves heard.”
She anticipates her group — a mix of health care workers, community organizers and communications professionals — will continue to host additional events bringing awareness to this issue, especially as more information becomes available about how the cuts will impact local health care facilities and providers.
The group has already received requests to replicate their forum in the lower Yakima Valley and to provide Spanish interpretation, Serabia said. They’ve also gotten interest from students at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences about a potential forum to address the impact on students pursuing careers in health care.
“We’re trying to get [residents] the information, so they understand this is something that is going to affect all of us,” said Serabia. “As we discover those [impacts], we want to share them with the community.”
Other groups in Central Washington have held similar events or are in the process of organizing them.
Rural People’s Voice, an organization based in Okanagan County, held a news conference in early July in which hospital leaders and community members addressed the cuts and a path forward for residents in rural north Central Washington.
“We may have lost this fight for Medicaid for now, but this is not our last shot. We’re here for the long haul,” said Elana Mainer, executive director for Rural People’s Voice at the news conference, held at Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster.
Poder Latinx, an organization aimed at increasing civic engagement among Latino residents nationwide, is planning a health fair in Yakima and other events around this state and several others to mobilize voters around the issue and encourage them to hold government officials accountable for their policy decisions regarding health care. Many of these events will be timed for Civic Health Month, each August, when organizations emphasize the link between civic engagement and a community’s well-being.
“These latest federal rollbacks only deepen the crisis, putting nearly 20 million Latinos, including half of all Latino children who rely on Medicaid or CHIP, at greater risk,” said Yadira Sánchez, executive director of Poder Latinx, in a Aug. 5 news release. “… Eligible Latino voters have a powerful opportunity to learn about these issues, organize, and take civic action — demanding accountability and policies that protect our health, dignity, and future.”
