As the summer months draw to a close, many of us are probably looking forward to the cooler temperatures that come with the fall season. This summer, like many in recent years, has set heat records around the world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information reported that this was the third-hottest June on record since NOAA began tracking global surface temperature in 1850. June 2024 and June 2023 were the first and second hottest Junes on record.
These record-breaking temperatures are evident right here in Hampton Roads. Earlier this summer, the Great Bridge Bridge malfunctioned multiple times due to extreme heat. And while the bridge malfunctions were inconvenient for commuters, extreme heat can have more severe repercussions on our health.
Dangerously high temperatures can lead to severe heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion, while exacerbating preexisting medical conditions such as asthma, COPD, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Extreme heat, compared to other forms of extreme weather such as tornadoes, flooding and hurricanes, killed more people in 2024 than any other type of extreme weather.
Since May, the Virginia Department of Health has reported that more than 3,500 Virginians have gone to the emergency room for heat-related illness, which is significantly higher than the average for this time of year. High temperatures also have an impact on the prevalence of mental health emergencies. Emergency rooms have reported seeing more patients for mental health-related visits on hotter days.
Recent cuts to Medicaid will make extreme heat deadlier than ever before. Young children, senior citizens, people with underlying conditions, pregnant women, and those who work outside are more susceptible to hotter temperatures. Those at the greatest risk of experiencing heat-related illness are the same individuals and families who rely on Medicaid for their health care.
Record-breaking, scorching summers are becoming our new normal as climate change intensifies heat waves across the country. With the impacts of climate change becoming more and more evident in our daily lives and in our health care system, cutting Medicaid coverage for nearly 10 million Americans is more than a policy mistake; it’s a death sentence.
As a registered nurse, I’m concerned with the health of those around me and recognize the increased costs of crisis care. Cuts to Medicaid strip away preventive measures, which will put patients at greater risk for developing acute heat-related illness. Without coverage, many forgo routine care for chronic conditions, miss medications and delay urgent care until symptoms become life-threatening. The result is more ambulance rides, more emergency department visits, more hospital days and more fatalities.
These services cost exponentially more to taxpayers than prevention. Analysts from Virginia project that surging summer temperatures could drive 235,000 additional emergency department visits and 56,000 extra hospitalizations nationwide each year, with a price tag of roughly $1 billion. This increase in health care costs is in addition to the higher costs states now have to take on for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This will force states to make very difficult funding decisions when it comes to healthcare, SNAP, and other social safety net programs.
Our leaders must take urgent action to ensure that those who face higher health risks from extreme heat have access to health care. Health care is a human right, and our elected officials need to do more to protect health care access for the most vulnerable in our community. I urge our Hampton Roads representatives, U.S. Reps. Jennifer Kiggans and Bobby Scott, and Virginia’s U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, to restore medical coverage for all and protect Americans when they need it most.
Janice Hawkins of Chesapeake is a clinical nurse specialist and certified global nurse consultant as well as a retired Army nurse and veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
