United States House of Representatives candidate Eileen Laubacher joined patients and healthcare advocates Thursday to warn about coming cuts to Medicaid and the dangers they pose to patients, healthcare workers and local economies.
Organized by Protect Our Care, a national advocacy organization, speakers gathered in a park across from Banner North Colorado Medical Center – Loveland Campus (formerly McKee Medical Center), which recently closed its emergency department, to share their own experiences with Medicaid and their worries if funding is cut.
The cuts stem from the passage of H.R. 1, more commonly known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which slashed taxes and social spending after it was signed by President Donald Trump last year. The bill is estimated to cut Medicaid by $900 billion, and some of those cuts have not yet taken effect.
Laubacher, a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Navy who is running to replace Rep. Lauren Boebert in Colorado Congressional District 4, which includes Loveland, said that Boebert’s vote for the bill is not what the people of the district want from their representatives.
“Lauren Boebert played a key role in passing Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which immediately slashed Medicaid and (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits for hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans, and obstructed access to critical medical procedures,” Laubacher said.
Junia McGillen, one of the patients who spoke Thursday, said that as a single mother with three children on the autism spectrum, the health of her family is tied directly to Medicaid, not only for typical expenses like glasses, dental care and routine doctors visits, but also the occupational therapy that’s necessary for her children to attain self-sufficiency by adulthood.
McGillen also has a sister with diabetes who suffered several strokes within the same year after rationing her insulin, resulting in a permanent disability.
“If my sister loses Medicaid, she will die,” she said. “She doesn’t have the option to not take insulin, she had those strokes because she was rationing insulin in the first place. My daughter will not have access to medication, my children will not have access to occupational therapy, which means in all likelihood, they will not be able to become self-sufficient.”
Laubacher and Adam Fox, deputy director of Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, a local organization that coordinates with Protect Our Care, said that these cuts also pose threats to hospitals like Banner in Loveland, which already closed its emergency department last fall and could be negatively impacted by cuts to Medicaid, losing patients that previously relied on that coverage.
Banner Health said that the hospital was not at risk of closing, but did express concern over the cuts.
“As one of the nation’s largest and most successful nonprofit health systems, we have designed an approach that enables us to live up to our mission, support facilities that face greater financial challenges, and continue serving the communities that depend on us,” a statement read. “However, we share concerns about the broader impact of the policy changes that affect Medicaid coverage and hospital reimbursement under HR 1 on safety net hospitals, particularly critical access facilities in remote and underserved communities. Cuts to Medicaid don’t just reduce coverage, they shift the financial burden onto nonprofit systems already operating on thin margins.”
Fox said that his organization and Protect Our Care were urging residents to contact representatives and express opposition to the cuts.
“Hypothetically, Congress can undo this,” he said. “And they should.”
