Vote for Health

At Providence, we believe that health care is a basic human right. Ensuring that we can care for all, especially the poor and vulnerable, requires protecting the vital programs that provide health coverage and services to these populations.

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that, together with the Children’s Health Insurance Program, provides coverage to nearly 88 million low-income Americans, including 40 million children, and is the single largest source of health coverage in the United States. Of the total enrolled,18.6 million have Medicaid coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. Medicaid is part of the essential safety net which, along with other programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, serves the most vulnerable Americans.

Medicare is a federal health insurance program for people 65 and older and covers over 65 million seniors. More than half of eligible beneficiaries, about 30 million people, are covered by Medicare Advantage.

Providence opposes cuts to these essential services and supports expansion of Medicare Advantage and Medicaid and policies that ensure the sustainability of government-sponsored coverage.

In California, Providence supports fully funding Medi-Cal to ensure California’s most vulnerable have access to quality health care.

In Montana, the Medicaid expansion program is set to expire in June 2025 if the legislature does not renew it by then. If expansion expires, more than 85,000 Montanans could lose coverage. Providence supports renewing Medicaid expansion to ensure access to care for the poor and vulnerable.

Affordability is a crucial element of health care as a human right and Providence’s Mission to serve all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Economic factors, workforce shortages, growing administrative burden imposed by insurers, and low reimbursement rates combined with increasing costs for drugs and supplies have slowed the health sector’s pandemic recovery and challenged hospitals financially. Providence supports policies that increase pharmaceutical price transparency, preserve the 340B Drug Pricing Program which increases access to medications for low-income patients, strengthen value-based care, and invest in innovative care models and the health care workforce. Providence also supports modernizing reimbursement rates to reflect the cost of delivering care.

The pandemic exacerbated challenges faced by the health care workforce, leading to high levels of stress and burnout among the nation’s caregivers. Today, the U.S. is facing the worst shortage of health care professionals since World War II. Without enough trained clinicians to care for communities, we are seeing an increase of program reductions and closures. Policymakers need to support innovative solutions that recruit, revitalize, and diversify the health care workforce.

The health care workforce is a vital aspect of the community safety net. Important priorities include fully funding additional GME slots and supporting education opportunities, addressing the rise in violence against health care workers, and reducing administrative burden on clinicians so they can focus on direct patient care and providing accurate reimbursement to keep pace with inflation.

At Providence, we understand that healthy people require a healthy planet and healthy communities.

Factors such as air pollution and the effects of climate change exacerbate many health issues and threaten health infrastructure, with the most detrimental effects disproportionately impacting diverse or marginalized communities and on people living in poverty. Providence supports efforts to decarbonize the health sector as well as safe climate policy that helps protect vulnerable communities and promotes environmental justice.

Research shows that early investments in health and basic social needs – like education, housing and food security – lead to better health outcomes and reduced costs over a lifetime. Community health can be improved by meeting these needs. Providence supports programs that preserve and expand services for people experiencing food and housing insecurity, including critical case management support.

Our communities are experiencing a growing need for mental and behavioral health care. The mental health crisis, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of fentanyl, is threefold: mental health (especially among teens), suicide prevention and substance use disorder.

Forty-two percent of youth have experienced persistent feeling of hopelessness and suicide is now the leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24, with LGBTQ+ youth being five times more likely to attempt. According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly one in five Americans live with a mental illness. Nearly 108,000 persons in the U.S. died from drug-involved overdose in 2022, and more than one in four adults living with a serious mental health concern also has a substance use condition.

Providence supports policies that build community-based mental health and substance use treatment capacity, improve insurance coverage and payment for services, increase access to care for youth, invest in opioid crisis response including medication assisted treatment and recovery programs, and strengthen the mental health and substance use treatment workforce.