Equitas Health Responds to 1BBB’s Unprecedented Cuts to Medicaid and America’s Healthcare Safety Net | Equitas Health

Blog 7/3/25

Equitas Health Responds to 1BBB’s Unprecedented Cuts to Medicaid and America’s Healthcare Safety Net

WASHINGTON, DC & COLUMBUS, OH – Last week, Equitas Health joined AIDS United and AIDS service organizations (ASOs) from across the country for a series of critical congressional meetings. The meetings were held amid the ongoing debate about the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” and the agency strongly condemns today’s passage of the bill, which will risk access to care for millions of patients across America. 

While on Capitol Hill and on the heels of an HIV-related funding freeze from the Ohio Dept. of Health (ODH), Equitas Health interacted with nearly 20 congressional offices – across multiple state delegations including Ohio, Texas, and Georgia – in an ongoing effort to protect funding for Medicaid, HIV-related programs, and more.  

Unfortunately, the US Congress – following a narrow, late June vote in the Senate (51-50) and an equally tight vote in the House of Representatives on July 3 (218-214) – passed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” This historic, unprecedented, and continued attack on access to care does the following: 

1. Cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid, implements mandatory work requirements, disincentivizes Medicaid expansion, and more. 

In the largest ever cut to Medicaid, rural hospitals – both in Ohio and across the country – stand to lose billions of dollars in funding, which could result in cuts to service lines and closures. In some areas, this will create healthcare deserts, which will further limit access to care for working families. In these counties, people will need to travel long distances to receive care, which may cause bottlenecks in other facilities. Further, such cuts threaten access to care across Ohio, including for people in urban, suburban, and rural counties.  

Medicaid provides coverage for roughly 40% of people living with HIV in America, and it is a crucial source of access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment. In a recent press release, AIDS United said, “robust access to Medicaid must be at the center of the federal government’s response to the HIV epidemic in this country.” Without Medicaid, people will lose access to affordable, life-saving treatment and medication, and lives will be lost due to this interruption of care.

2. Threatens HIV treatment, prevention, and resource programs, which already face a proposed $1 billion cut.

Following this vote, HIV-related programs like the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) continue to face massive cuts in FY 26. Such cuts threaten decades of progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  

Ohio receives over $13 million in HIV-related grant funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But, a recent pause in funding has already shut down services across Ohio. For instance, the OHIV Hotline – a program of Equitas Health that offers HIV/STI testing and treatment services – was already forced to pause state-wide services, such as their distribution of free condoms and at-home HIV test kits.   

Regarding the impact of funding cuts at the federal level, David Ernesto Munar, (he/him) President and Chief Executive Officer of Equitas Health said, “These cuts are a devastating attack on trusted and effective public health programs…Weakening the federal government’s commitment to public health will cause rates of preventable and chronic conditions to soar. Costs will rise for patients and taxpayers. And people will die.” 

3. Compounds the harm caused by the recently passed state operating budget for Ohio.

Last week, the Ohio General Assembly passed a two-year state operating budget with multiple anti-LGBTQ+ provisions, such as setting a state definition of ‘sex,’ denying funding for homeless shelters that support LGBTQ+ youth, prohibiting transgender and non-binary patients from using Medicaid for life-saving mental health services, and more.  

The legislation also contained Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) trigger language that further threatens healthcare coverage for over 777,000 Ohioans covered by Medicaid expansion. Equitas Health called on Governor Mike DeWine to exercise his line-item veto, and some provisions were successfully removed. Even so, today’s vote in the US Congress will compound the harm caused by Ohio’s state operating budget. 

4. Fails to “make America healthy again,” despite this being a stated goal of the White House.

The legislation disproportionately harms Medicaid enrollees, LGBTQ+ people, people living with HIV, and vulnerable communities. While the US Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the White House reiterate the importance of “making America healthy again,” this legislation makes deep cuts to Medicaid, while also cutting more than $200 billion from SNAP and food assistance programs for working families. 

Regarding the importance of federal funding, Rhea Debussy, PhD, (she/her) Director of External Affairs at Equitas Health said, “If Secretary Kennedy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services want to ‘make America healthy again,’ then we must fund – not cut – Medicaid, Medicare, HIV prevention programs at the CDC, HIV treatment programs at HRSA, and infectious disease research at NIH. Fighting chronic illness requires funding America’s healthcare safety net, and the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ definitely fails to do that.” 

Equitas Health remains committed to advancing care for all through public policy work both in the Ohio General Assembly and the US Congress, and the agency will continue to communicate about issues related to federal funding for community health centers, Medicaid, and HIV-focused programs.  

 

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ABOUT EQUITAS HEALTH 

Established in 1984, Equitas Health is a regional nonprofit community healthcare system. A federally designated Community Health Center, it is one of the largest LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS serving healthcare organizations in the United States. With 22 offices in 13 cities, Equitas Health serves tens of thousands of patients in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia each year through patient-centered, integrated, and cutting edge services, including primary and specialized medical care, pharmacy, dentistry, mental health and recovery, HIV/STI treatment and prevention, PrEP/PEP, Ryan White/HIV case management, care navigation, advocacy, and other community health initiatives. The Equitas Health Pharmacy is an integral and essential part of the health center’s comprehensive care and business models, reinvesting 100% of profits back into the organization’s programs and services. Equitas Health operates pharmacies serving patients in Ohio and Texas. For more information, visit equitashealth.com or find them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.  

ABOUT AIDS UNITED 

AIDS United’s mission is to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. through strategic grant-making, capacity-building, and policy/advocacy. AIDS United works to ensure access to life-saving HIV care and prevention services and to advance sound HIV-related policy for populations and communities most impacted by the U.S. epidemic. As of January 2021, our strategic grant-making initiatives have directly funded more than $118 million to local communities, and we have leveraged more than $184 million in additional investments for programs that include, but are not limited to, syringe access, access to care, capacity-building, HIV prevention, and advocacy. Learn more at www.aidsunited.org.