Philadelphia, PA − April 23, 2025 − On Tuesday, April 22nd, Senator Vincent Hughes hosted an intergovernmental roundtable with federal, state, and local lawmakers and healthcare leaders from across Pennsylvania. The goal was to bring a variety of stakeholders together to discuss what federal healthcare cuts could mean for Pennsylvania’s entire healthcare ecosystem and the people who rely on health benefits from Medicaid, CHIP, Pennie, and provisions in the Affordable Care Act that have made healthcare more accessible and affordable.
“It’s important for this group to affirm the magnitude of these potential cuts,” said Senator Hughes. “These cuts threaten access to quality healthcare and coverage, but they also threaten the well-being of our hospital systems, our nursing homes, and our healthcare workers. We need the public to understand that our healthcare system is extremely interconnected. If congressional Republicans move forward with $880 billion in cuts, our entire healthcare and health insurance system will feel it.”
In Pennsylvania, over 3 million residents, or 23% of the Commonwealth’s population rely on Medicaid or CHIP for health insurance. 39% of all Pennsylvania children are enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP. Roundtable participants stressed the huge financial gap Pennsylvania will have to grapple with if federal lawmakers decide to cut health benefits.
Senator Jay Costa explained, “The argument coming out of Washington is that they’re not going to cut Medicaid, they’re just modifying eligibility. They say that’s not a benefit cut, but at the end of the day those are reductions. It will then be up to the states to make hard decisions about how to respond to the loss of federal dollars and coverage.”
Several roundtable participants noted that federal cuts will also hurt local economies. DHS c said, “For all of us, but for rural communities in particular, hospitals are often the foundation of a community’s economic viability, health, and strength. And when a hospital closes, that’s often the largest employer in the community.”
“Who’s impacted by these cuts? Everyone, everyone will be impacted,” said Dr. Ala Stanford, founder of the Black Doctors Consortium, professor at University of Pennsylvania, and former HHS Regional Director.
The group of over 25 lawmakers and leaders agreed that now is the time to be reaching out to both Republican and Democrat lawmakers in Washington to make the case for how catastrophic healthcare cuts could be. Laura Guerra, Congressman Evans’ Healthcare Legislative Assistant, noted that language about what specifically will be cut could surface around the end of May.
The intergovernmental roundtable was hosted at the University City Science Center, located in Senator Hughes’ district. A video of the roundtable is available online.
Roundtable participants included:
Federal Lawmakers
- Congressman Dwight Evans
- Joined by Laura Guerra, Healthcare Legislative Assistant
- Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon
State Lawmakers
- Senator Jay Costa, Senate Democratic Leader
- Senator Vincent Hughes, Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair
- Senator Maria Collett, Chair of the Senate Aging and Youth Committee
- Senator Sharif Street, Chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee
- Office of House Speaker Joanna McClinton
- Represented by Hans Van Mol, District Office Director, Office of House Speaker Joanna McClinton
State Appointed Leaders
- Dr. Val Arkoosh, MD, MPH, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
- Michael Humphreys, Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department
- Jason Kavulich, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging
- Devon Trolley, Executive Director of Pennie
City Lawmakers and Leaders
- Councilmember Nina Ahmad, Chair of the Public Health and Human Services Committee
- Office of Councilmember Jaime Gauthier, District 3 and Chair of Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless
- Represented by Mariya Khandros, Chief of Staff
Healthcare Leaders and Advocates
- Roy Afflerbach, Government Affairs, Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging (P4A)
- Donna Bailey, CEO of Community Behavioral Health
- Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, Professor, Clinical Family Medicine & Community Health, Perelman School of Medicine
- Peter Grollman, Senior Vice President, External Affairs, Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania
- Krista Hoglund, President, Jefferson Health Plans
- Emily Katz, Executive Director, PA Medicaid Managed Care Organizations
- Ali Kronley, Vice President and Director of United Homecare Workers of Pennsylvania, SEIU
- Katherine Levins, Vice President of Public Policy & Government Affairs, Temple Health
- Garry Pezzano, President and CEO, LeadingAge PA
- Bill Ryan, Senior Lobbyist, Saxton and Stump
- Zach Shamberg, President and CEO, PA Health Care Association
- Dr. Ala Stanford, Founder of the Black Doctors Consortium, Professor at University of Pennsylvania, Former HHS Regional Director
- David Wilson, Vice President of Government and Community Relations, Drexel Health
- Tiffany Wilson, CEO of University City Science Center
