From President and CEO Erik Wexler: H.R. 1 underscores the urgency of our long-term sustainability initiatives
Dear core leaders and caregivers,
Over the past several months, many of you have used your voice in support of our most vulnerable patients. Together, we stood up and advocated for those who rely on Medicaid — engaging lawmakers and sharing powerful stories about the real human impact of proposed policy changes. Nearly 7,000 letters were sent to Congress from our own caregivers urging members to preserve Medicaid. I am so proud of our ministry and all that we stand for.
As you know, H.R. 1 — officially named the One Big Beautiful Bill — was signed into law last week, including nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. These cuts will have a significant impact on health care in the United States — reducing access to essential care, increasing wait times, and adding pressure to an already strained health care system. I invite you to read this summary of H.R. 1 from our government affairs team.
While the outcome was disappointing, it was not unexpected. Since January, Providence has been preparing for this possibility — evaluating scenarios, planning thoughtfully, and aligning our resources to ensure we can continue to serve our communities with compassionate, high-quality care. The passage of this bill heightens our imperative to execute on the planning we began six months ago.
As one of the largest providers of Medicaid services in our communities, we estimate that H.R. 1 will result in an impact to Providence of up to $500 million annually in lost Medicaid funding. These reductions will be coupled with an increase in the number of people without health insurance, further stressing the safety net that health systems like ours provide.
This underscores the urgency of our long-term sustainability initiatives. We can and must transform. We’ll look different on the other side of this transformation — but we will be stronger, more agile and more deeply focused on our Mission. Just as our founding sisters met the challenges of their time with courage and faith, so will we.
Thank you for all that you do to care for others. Please also care for yourself. Together, we will respond to the times — and we’ll do so using every fiber of the ministry to serve those who are poor and vulnerable.
Yours in Providence,
Erik G. Wexler
President and CEO
Also see:
From CFO Greg Hoffman: Next few weeks are critical for our sustainability