Northwest Indiana health providers consider worst-case scenarios if federal funds dry up

Melissa Mitchell had a one-word response to a question posed by U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, a Democrat who represents Northwest Indiana.

“In your forecasting and with the uncertainty, what is your worst-case scenario?” Mrvan asked Mitchell, the chief executive of HealthLinc, a Valparaiso-based not-for-profit medical provider serving a five-county area in Northwest Indiana.

“Close,” Mitchell responded. “I think that’s everyone’s worst-case scenario. Many of us are above 50 percent funded by Medicaid, and there is no other way to recoup those dollars.”

Mrvan met this week with representatives of eight health care providers to get a feel for how they would be affected by the enactment this month of President Donald Trump’s budget, which includes deep cuts to Medicaid funding. The roundtable discussion was held at Porter Starke Services, a mental health provider in Valparaiso.

Mitchell emphasized that her organization was stable, but it was difficult to weigh the full impact the cuts would have on patients and providers.

“We’re good right now, but with the amount of uncertainty that’s out there, there’s nothing off the table,” Mitchell said. “If we end up taking a hit to 50 percent or more of our Medicaid, our operations as they exist today and the amount of people we serve, it’s absolutely not going to be a sustainable model in any way.”

Mitchell isn’t alone.

Dr. Janet Seabrook is the founder and chief executive of Community Health Net, which primarily serves Gary, Hammond and East Chicago. About 80 percent of the organization’s clients receive Medicaid.

“Not only just Community Health Net, but every single provider will be dramatically impacted when these cuts are to take effect,” Seabrook said. “When you’re looking at a Medicaid population that’s greater than 50 percent, anything that impacts Medicaid is going to impact those health centers.”

Seabrook agrees with Mitchell that closing would be a worst-case scenario.

“We don’t want that to happen, and I’m sure most of the health centers that were represented here today would look at other service lines, maybe staff reductions,” Seabrook said. “But eventually, if things don’t clear up, closing would be a consideration.”

Mrvan said he doesn’t want to see health facilities close their doors, but as one of only two Democrats in Indiana’s nine-member congressional delegation, he wasn’t able to stop passage of Trump’s spending bill.

He estimates that about 211,000 people in his district receive Medicaid coverage. According to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, about 1.9 million Hoosiers are on Medicaid as of this month.

“The message that I heard today is that the cuts are going to be devastating and life-threatening,” Mrvan said. “To cut health care access in order to pay for tax cuts to the most wealthy in our country and the corporations that don’t need them is something that is going to devastate our economy, and it also is going to make sure that our most vulnerable populations aren’t getting the access to health care, mental health and other services that are provided.”