Medicaid cuts are looming. Washington state is trying to help
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed an executive order Thursday to try to help hundreds of thousands of Washington state residents who are at risk of losing their Medicaid health insurance.
That’s because of a new federal law called H.R. 1, which was signed into law in July 2025.
The law includes new work requirements for Medicaid recipients, which go into effect in 2027. To keep their Medicaid health insurance, adults who are not yet 65 and don’t have dependent children younger than 13 will have to file paperwork twice a year proving that they work, volunteer, or go to school for at least 80 hours a month. In Washington state, about 600,000 will be subject to these new requirements.
“It really ticks me off,” Ferguson said in a press conference Thursday. “What’s happening here is morally bankrupt.”
Ferguson said these new requirements create “another opportunity for someone to lose coverage.”
“Not because they're ineligible — these are folks who are eligible for Medicaid,” he said. “But it becomes so burdensome to go through a process they will not navigate that bureaucracy successfully.”
“That is unacceptable,” he added.
At the press conference, Ferguson signed an executive order establishing a committee that will coordinate efforts to keep as many Washingtonians insured as possible. The order also directs the state health agency to document and track how many people are losing their insurance coverage.
The impacts from H.R. 1 already started last year, when prices on the Washington state health care exchange jumped because the federal government did not renew subsidies for many people who buy their health insurance.
Another 14,000 or so people could lose Medicaid coverage starting Oct. 1, when some legally present immigrants such as refugees will become ineligible.
But the new work requirements affect the largest group of people by far.
The effects will go beyond the individuals losing their health insurance. The changes will also impact the health care system as a whole, as clinics and hospitals absorb the cost of caring for more uninsured patients.
“When people lose their health insurance, their medical needs do not go away,” said Eric Moll, CEO of Mason Health. “Hospitals will still care for those patients. We're here to serve the community, and we provide care to people who come through our doors regardless of their ability to pay.”
When the costs become too high, hospitals, especially rural hospitals, end up cutting services.
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