Nancy Churchill shares how Olympia ‘faked a crisis’

Nancy Churchill
Dangerous Rhetoric

“Hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians will lose their healthcare,” Governor Bob Ferguson warned in July, accusing congressional Republicans of slashing Medicaid in a “cruel” and “unprecedented” attack on the vulnerable. Media outlets repeated his claims without question and within days, social media lit up with doomsday predictions of rural hospital closures, collapsed clinics, and widespread suffering in medically underserved areas.

But none of it was true. Not the way they told it.

Behind the curtain of staged outrage was a stunning fact: Washington Democrats had already slashed over $782 million from Medicaid weeks earlier — in their own budget, signed by Ferguson himself. The panic wasn’t real. It was theater. A carefully choreographed smokescreen to distract voters from the truth.

And the truth is simple: Olympia broke Medicaid. Then they blamed Congress.

Who really cut Medicaid? Look to Olympia

According to the nonpartisan Office of Program Research, the 2025 state budget—written by Democrats and signed by Governor Ferguson — cut $782 million from Washington’s Medicaid program. That included:

·     $446 million in lost federal funds, and

·     $336.5 million in state matching dollars.

Almost 95% of the reductions came from general medical care, long-term care for seniors, and services for the disabled. These aren’t abstract line items. These are lifelines for Washingtonians who depend on care every day.

House Republican budget lead Rep. Travis Couture was blunt: “Democrats didn’t just cut Medicaid — they cut out the truth and blamed others.”

Couture’s press release noted, “Democrats hit hospitals with both program cuts and new taxes in 2025, costing $120 million in 2026 and rising to $239 million annually by 2027. These cuts will further destabilize Washington’s hospitals, which have already lost more than $4 billion since 2021, according to the Washington State Hospital Association.”

His office had to fight for four months to obtain the full breakdown from the OPR. Why the delay? Simple. Olympia’s Democrats needed time to execute their messaging pivot: Slash Medicaid, then act outraged when someone else proposes reform.

And it worked — at least for a while.

Blame Congress, distract the public

On July 3, Governor Ferguson issued a press release slamming congressional Republicans for approving changes to federal Medicaid funding. He called it “cruel,” “unprecedented,” and warned it would “fundamentally alter Washington’s health care system.”

What he didn’t say was that just weeks earlier, he had signed legislation enacting massive Medicaid cuts at the state level.

The contradiction is staggering. But so is the strategy.

As Rep. Jim Walsh wrote:

“Democrats’ hysterical rhetoric on Medicaid is nothing more than a blame game designed to distract from their own policy failures.”

And he’s right. The so-called “crisis” is not a result of federal policy—it’s the product of years of reckless expansion, unsustainable budgeting, and political cowardice right here in Washington.

Apple Health: A program on the brink

In Washington, Medicaid is known as Apple Health. It’s administered by the Washington Health Care Authority, a state agency under the direct control of the governor.

And while Medicaid is supposed to serve the elderly, disabled, and families in poverty, Apple Health now covers far more — thanks to state-level decisions.

“One of the most controversial steps Apple Health has taken: Extending benefits to illegal aliens living in this state,” Walsh explained.

“This is explicitly prohibited by federal law, so Apple Health has to use only state tax dollars to pay for those benefits.”

That expansion — not federal reform — is what’s draining the program.

Doctors and hospital administrators across the state have told lawmakers privately that Medicaid payment rates have fallen below sustainable levels, not because of cuts, but because too many new patients were added with no funding to support them.

Ferguson and his allies in the Legislature want you to believe the problem is in Congress. In reality, it’s right here — in Olympia.

Rural care: Stability, not collapse

Democrats want rural Washington residents to panic. They need us to panic—because panic hides the truth.

But here’s the real story: The 2025 federal reforms don’t target rural hospitals for closure. They aim to make Medicaid more sustainable, more focused, and—over time—better for the people it was originally designed to serve. And, it’s important to realize that the federal reforms don’t begin until 2026!

“There may be some adjustment pains as the reforms take place,” Walsh admitted. “But in time, the reforms will make Medicaid payments to doctors and hospitals stronger and more sustainable.”

“We may see more providers — including more medical specialists — returning to communities that are currently underserved.”

This is the opposite of a healthcare collapse. It’s a correction — away from political exploitation and back toward real care.

Conclusion: They cut you. Then lied about it

The facts are no longer in dispute.

·     Bob Ferguson signed the STATE budget that cut AppleCare (that is, WA state Medicaid).

·     Then he blamed Congress for cuts he already approved.

·     Now, Democrats are trying to scare rural residents into thinking reform is the real threat.

They are weaponizing your fear to cover their failure.

But rural Washington doesn’t need more panic. It needs honesty, clarity, and long-term sustainability — not another broken promise wrapped in a press release.

Don’t fall for the smokescreen. The knife didn’t come from Washington, D.C. It came from Olympia — and it still has Ferguson’s fingerprints on it.

Nancy Churchill is a writer and educator in rural eastern Washington State, and the chair of the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on Substack, X, and Rumble.

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