In the News

U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen hosted a town hall meeting Tuesday at Harrison K-8 School to give updates on what’s happening at the federal level and engage with local voices.

One common theme she has heard across the 7th Congressional District is concern about President Donald Trump’s proposed budget bill, “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which she voted against May 22.

“What’s gut-wrenching for me is the healthcare cuts,” she said. “… There is a higher percentage of folks here in Fremont County who rely on Medicaid, so it’s going to have a big impact not only on healthcare coverage, but on your economy and the dollars here.”

She said the proposal decimates funding, cuts critical healthcare services and hires bureaucrats to make it impossible to utilize the system. She said there’s a lot at stake, and that’s why she was here.

“I wish I could come bringing better news for this community,” Pettersen said during an interview with the Daily Record before the event. “When I think about the numbers and the impact and the people that are going to be most vulnerable and the most impacted, it’s places like Fremont and Custer and Teller – and it’s people throughout all of Colorado and all of my district.”

With a poverty rate of 18.9% in Fremont County, about 28.35% of the residents, or 14,000 people, rely on Medicaid.

“That’s why this discussion is so important,” Pettersen said. “It’s putting party politics aside and talking about issues and their impact. This bill is designed to kick people off, to make it nearly impossible to qualify to jump through the hoops, nearly impossible to stay qualified, and it’s going to be devastating.”

The bill proposes taking away the federal match for the provider fee, she said.

“It’s something we use to backfill and pay for the uncompensated care in places like our hospitals,” Pettersen said. “And they’re decimating the federal funding. The system is going to be unable to work. We’re going to have to spend $57 million in Colorado for bureaucrats, while firing doctors and nurses.”

J.C. Carrica, Vice President of Valley-Wide Health Systems, a guest panelist at the town hall meeting, shared his concerns about the impacts the bill could have.

“It really is a week-to-week process right now, understanding where we are with healthcare and around, particularly, Medicaid,” he said.

Valley-Wide, a non-profit company with its flagship clinic in Cañon City, serves about 37,000 patients in 19 clinics across 14 counties.  Valley-Wide covers about 22,000 square miles with about 550 employees. About 40% of its revenue is from Medicaid.

Prior to this bill, from April 2023 to April 2025, the region Valley-Side served went from 158,000 Medicaid recipients to 108,000, as a result of the requirement to reapply after the waiver during the pandemic.

“When we talk about the effects, we’ve already had an effect,” Carrica said. “…Losing 31% of all of the Medicaid patients in 24 months is really catastrophic. We’re just trying to swim right now, so the impact of this bill could be catastrophic. … The effect is here and now, we’re just waiting for the second tidal wave to kind of smash us a little bit and see what we look like coming out the other end.”

Fremont County Commissioner Kevin Grantham, also an invited panelist, said pretending potential Medicaid cuts won’t affect residents is a head-in-the-sand approach.

“What power we have here is a little bit different,” he said. “We do have advocacy with all of our representatives, and we will continue to advocate on some of those things. Our hospital anticipates a hit. Luckily, St. Thomas More has the CommonSpirit brand to be able to absorb some of those things on a brand-wide basis. I would doubt our hospital is in jeopardy, but they are closely examining this. Many of their concerns they are addressing with our Colorado delegation, both on the Senate and on the House side.”

The “One Big Beautiful Act” was passed by one vote, 214 to 215, in the House. It will now go before the Senate for a vote and then back to the House.

“It’s important that we tell our stories and make people aware of what’s happening so that their voices can be heard and do what we can in the remaining time,” Pettersen said.

For more information or to sign up for Pettersen’s weekly newsletter, visithttps://pettersen.house.gov/.

Pettersen’s Cañon City District Office is located at 611 Greenwood Ave., Suite C, and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 719-458-6161.