Two university health care systems could lose more than $1 billion due to federal Medicaid cuts.

Yesterday, leaders from the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville Health explained the potential impacts to the Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board.

Our Emily Sisk was there and has the latest.

As we began tonight's legislative update at UK Health Care and Universal Health, there's a federal program which allows the facilities to receive Medicaid payments to cover the cost of care.

It's called the University Directed Payment Program.

The universities put down funds and then receive Medicaid payments.

They ensure our hospitals remain financially viable to serve low income patients and provide high quality care in specialty areas such as transplant, high risk obstetrics, oncology and trauma services, just to name a few.

But the federal budget reconciliation bill, which was signed on July 4th, will make significant changes to the program.

The bill proposes a 10% annual reduction in Medicaid payments for ten years that would begin in 2028.

At the end of the ten year period.

The cumulative cuts will be approximately 600 million.

Negative impact for U.

Of ill health alone.

U.K. estimated its losses would be worth $1 billion.

A Democratic lawmaker shared her concerns for the future of the institutions.

There is no way that our health care systems can sustain this amount of depletion of funds in the future.

It just is not.

It will not survive.

One Republican representative said she'd like a closer look at the data to get a better understanding of the cost of services.

I mean, there's so much money flying around.

I, I don't know if we can peel back the onion to really understand what we truly need.

UK's leader is optimistic that the proposed cuts might decrease before they're enacted.

I've seen multiple multiple reconciliation bills in my tenure.

Many of these start out as, A direction of where things need to go, but very often they never turn out to be the destination regardless.

Both universities said they're planning for the years ahead.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Emily Sisk.

Thank you Emily.

Over the last decade, Kentucky's health ranking has increased from 47th in the nation to 37th.

UC's leaders say that's thanks in part to programs like Medicaid directed payments.