WA Congressional Candidates Clash Over Medicaid Cuts, Immigrant Coverage
At a Walla Walla candidate forum, Republican incumbent Rep. Michael Baumgartner and Democratic challenger Carmela Conroy debated the Medicaid and health coverage effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ahead of Washington's 5th Congressional District race. Baumgartner defended the law's Medicaid work requirements and its disincentives for states covering undocumented immigrants, citing $50 billion in new rural health funding including $181 million for Washington in fiscal year 2026. Conroy countered that legal immigrants, including workers and students, are losing coverage under the law and said she would push to expand Medicaid access for people from birth to age 19. The forum comes as roughly 10,000 legal immigrants in Washington have already lost Medicaid coverage this month under the act, with a federal court temporarily blocking further losses for about 800 more.