GWU Research: Medicaid Cuts Will Also Devastate FQHC Medicare Patients — Cross-Subsidy at Risk

Geiger Gibson Program at GWU finds Medicaid cuts won't just affect Medicaid patients — they'll undermine care for 7.4M Medicare patients at community health centers. FQHCs use Medicaid revenue to cross-subsidize Medicare and uninsured care. If Medicaid volume drops, health centers may reduce hours, close sites, or cut services that Medicare patients depend on. CHCs operated at -2% average margin in 2024.