Colorado treasurer warns of Medicaid cuts’ devastating impact on state budget

DENVER | Colorado State Treasurer Dave Young warned Wednesday of the dire consequences for the state’s budget that could result from Republican proposals to slash federal spending, especially the cuts that would be forced on Medicaid by a recently passed GOP budget resolution.

Young spoke alongside other state treasurers in a virtual press conference held by the advocacy group Americans for Responsible Growth, slamming the proposed spending cuts “coming from the Trump administration and from the activities of Elon Musk.”

“The Republicans’ current budget plan, backed by President Trump, is not only financially reckless, it’s needlessly cruel,” Young said. “In Colorado alone, we have about 1.2 million seniors, disabled people, pregnant mothers, working class families that depend on Medicaid. If federal cuts go through, our state must make up the difference by slashing other essential programs like education or kicking thousands of Coloradans off Medicaid. Neither option is acceptable to me.”

The budget resolution passed by GOP lawmakers earlier this month requires the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid spending, to make more than $880 billion in cuts to federal spending over the next 10 years. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicaid comprises 93% of the spending that could be cut by the committee. As a result, the Republican budget requires a minimum of $700 billion in Medicaid cuts — or a 10% reduction in projected spending — even if all other spending overseen by the committee were zeroed out.

Young, a Democratic former state lawmaker from Greeley, has served as Colorado’s state treasurer since 2019. One of four statewide executive offices elected by voters, the treasurer oversees the management, investment and disbursement of state funds, along with a handful of savings and loan programs and the state’s Division of Unclaimed Property.

He spoke Wednesday of his sister, Dorothy, who is developmentally disabled and has relied on Medicaid for behavioral and physical health care services throughout her life. About 25 years ago, when Colorado’s Medicaid program was previously forced to make cuts, Young said, Dorothy struggled to find care and was “essentially homeless” for a period of time.

“This is somebody who has no ability to care for herself … but was out on the street because Medicaid didn’t have enough money to support her,” said Young. “I ran for office to advocate, not only for my sister, but for the thousands like her, and because I’ve seen how essential these services are, and how fragile our Medicaid system can be if we don’t protect it.”

If congressional Republicans follow through on their planned Medicaid cuts, Colorado could face an especially difficult set of fiscal choices because of the requirements in the so-called Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, which Young called “the most restrictive tax and expenditure provisions of any state in the country.” With state lawmakers barred from raising additional revenue without ballot-box approval, and already struggling to fill an estimated $1.2 billion budget gap this year, the state’s only options could be to make deep cuts to a range of social services.

“As these health care costs increase, it’s just going to crowd out our education expenditures even more, and these are just not sustainable pathways for delivering effective services for people in the state of Colorado,” Young said. “Children need to have a quality education. People need to have effective health care. We want an infrastructure system that works for people — our business communities count on that to thrive. And without a thoughtful approach to dealing with Medicaid, particularly in Colorado, we put the future of our state at grave risk.”