Medicaid cuts a 'four alarm fire' for Washington

SEATTLE — Gov. Bob Ferguson called the sweeping cuts to Medicaid that passed through the House a "four-alarm fire" at a press conference Thursday morning.

"I want to be crystal clear: It's dire," Ferguson said. "Hospitals will close, nursing homes will close, that will impact not just folks who are on Medicaid, but Washingtonians all across our state."

The bill remains to be voted on in the Senate, which would grant a multitrillion-dollar tax break to billionaires and cut an estimated 8.6 million people from their health care.

Preliminary data from the state suggests that as many as 200,000 could lose their Medicaid health care in Washington as soon as next year. The current cuts would represent a $2 billion loss in federal funding to Washington's state program.

The CEO of Harborview