The House version of that tax and budget bill proposes more than $1 trillion in spending cuts, including more than $700 billion in cuts to Medicaid.

The University of Kentucky says nearly 35% of patients served by UK health care are Medicaid recipients.

Mark Birtwistle is the UK's senior vice president for health and public policy.

He says federal support for Medicaid remains essential to serving the state's most vulnerable.

Because of this funding that has been available to the Commonwealth and to the University.

In our fiscal year 2022, UK had to turn away approximately 4000 potential patients that needed to get care in our facilities.

Because we had this funding, we've been able to open additional floors in the Chandler Hospital and we were able to accept 45% more of those patients.

We're still turning away too many people in fiscal year 25.

To date, we've turned away 1800 people.

So because of open, because of the funding, we've been able to open up access and say yes more times than we were in previous years, which I think is significant.

In addition, it has also allowed us to answer the call from health systems and providers across the Commonwealth, particularly in south eastern Kentucky, that need access to specialist.

Because of this funding, we were able to finance sending physicians and other providers to remote locations one day, two days a week, one day a month to ensure access to specialty care.

And in the Commonwealth, so that patients get the care that they need closer to home and they don't have to travel to Lexington to get it.

Senate Republicans have imposed a self-imposed deadline of July 4th to pass the bill.

U.S.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has said he won't consider voting for the bill unless the $4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling is removed.