Republican Budget Bill Threatens Health Coverage

Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the harmful effects of several healthcare provisions already passed from the House Ways & Means and Energy & Commerce committees for the Republican budget reconciliation bill. These provisions collectively amount to an annual loss of nearly $13.5 billion for New Yorkers and our healthcare sector, jeopardizing healthcare access for millions of New Yorkers while imperiling the state’s hospitals and other healthcare providers.

“House Republicans are unrelenting in their pursuit to slash critical safety net programs like Medicaid that millions of New Yorkers rely on,” Governor Hochul said. “I’ll say it again, no one State can backfill these massive cuts - our Republican congressional members must speak out and push back to protect New Yorkers, now.”

The provisions as currently written will lead to substantial changes in how the critical public insurance programs Medicaid and the Essential Plan are funded and administered across the state. According to the text of the bill language as passed by Ways & Means, more than half (50%) of Essential Plan funding — more than $7.5 billion — would be slashed, threatening the future of the program, and causing hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to lose coverage. That same Ways & Means text would shift almost $3 billion of costs to the State, and result in billions of dollars in cuts to the State's healthcare providers.

In addition to the devastating financial losses to the Essential Plan, the text of the bill language as passed by Energy & Commerce requires states to impose stricter work reporting requirements and onerous verification processes for Medicaid, both of which will significantly increase the administrative burden of the program, thus making coverage more difficult to access. All told, the Republican bill would cause nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers to lose coverage and become uninsured. The Republican bill would also eliminate critical funding mechanisms long used to support our healthcare providers, place enormous strain on the health care system and trigger widespread impacts across local economies. The state anticipates an additional fiscal impact of more than $3 billion due to the Energy & Commerce language, including approximately $500 million in new administrative costs alone.

View a congressional district-by-district breakdown on anticipated funding losses here.

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “The proposed changes to federal health care funding would have serious consequences for New York State. Losing coverage for nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers would lead to significantly worse health outcomes for New Yorkers and would put immense strain on our health care system. We remain committed to working with all levels of government to protect access to quality, affordable care for all New Yorkers.”

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said, ““This is as cruel and heartless as it gets. Trump and House Republicans want to kick 1.5 million New Yorkers off their health insurance and rip away $13.5 billion from NY’s hospitals and healthcare economy so they can have bigger tax breaks for billionaires & corporations. NY House Republicans promised for months they would protect Medicaid, but now New Yorkers know the truth: they never intended to keep that promise, and this confirms it. This isn’t targeting waste and fraud, this is a rushed plan to bankroll Trump’s tax breaks for the ultra-rich paid for by ripping away healthcare for New Yorkers. Hospitals and nursing homes will shutter, premiums will go up, families will suffer, and health care workers will lose their jobs. NY House Republicans need to stand up to Trump and stand up for New York, and stop the largest cut to healthcare in American history.”

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, “This proposal would be catastrophic for the millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid. Republicans should be focused on bringing down the cost of essentials; instead, they are making health care harder to access and more expensive. They have proposed work requirements for Medicaid that ignore the fact that most Medicaid recipients already work, and would cost New York State an estimated $500 million to administer and enforce – all for minimal cost savings. The Republican bill puts kids at risk of losing health care through Medicaid and CHIP and puts the future of our state’s many rural hospitals in jeopardy. This is an unacceptable piece of legislation, and I will be doing everything in my power to stop it from passing.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “Across our great state, millions rely on Medicaid for life-saving and life-sustaining healthcare coverage. Under the Republican plan, 1.5 million New Yorkers would lose their insurance, including over 60,000 residents of the Eighth Congressional District, as part of a toxic scheme to enact massive tax cuts for billionaires like Elon Musk. Nursing homes will close, hospitals will shut down and Community Health Centers will lose funding. It is time for House Republicans in New York to come up with the courage to stand up for their constituents and join with Democrats to prevent this devastating attack on the healthcare that New Yorkers depend on to survive.”

Representative Jerrold Nadler said, “The House Republicans’ dangerous budget reconciliation bill would rip health care away from nearly 14 million Americans, including 1.5 million New Yorkers. Let’s be clear: this is an attack on the health care millions of families rely on, and it has nothing to do with fighting fraud, waste, or abuse. These cuts would fall hardest on children, women, seniors, and people with disabilities. It’s a shameful assault on the most vulnerable in our society, all to bankroll tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. Every member of New York’s Congressional Delegation has a moral obligation to vote no on this devastating bill. To do anything less would be a callous betrayal of the New York families we represent.”

Representative Nydia Velázquez said, “This is a calculated, partisan attack on New York by extremist Republicans who would rather dismantle public healthcare than ask billionaires to pay their fair share. Gutting the Essential Plan and subtracting $13.5 billion from the New York State economy is not sound policy; it is an assault on immigrants, workers, and underserved communities. These cuts will devastate safety net hospitals, strip coverage from over a million people, and punish states that remain committed to upholding their moral responsibility to provide care for all.”

Representative Yvette D. Clarke said, “My Republican colleagues are so determined to gift tax breaks to their billionaire donors that they’ll strip healthcare from millions of Americans just to fund them. Let’s be clear: New Yorkers will lose their lives from the proposed cuts to Medicaid and other critical safety nets. Families won’t be able to afford to put food on the table, much less access the care they depend on to survive. For the safety and health of our communities and those across the nation, Congress has a moral responsibility to draw a line in the sand and not allow these cruel cuts to pass.”

Representative Paul Tonko said, “I spent last week in Congress stating in the strongest possible terms my opposition to the Republicans’ budget betrayal and sharing the personal, devastating impacts these cuts would have on the communities and constituents I represent. New York State stands to lose billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid from the reduced federal match, the provider tax provisions and more senseless provisions in this cruel package. Too many lives are at stake: I will continue to fight against this heartless budget with everything I’ve got.”

Representative Grace Meng said, “As it stands, the GOP budget would threaten health care for hundreds of thousands of Queens residents in my district and the health care providers throughout New York that serve them. My Queens district has hundreds of thousands of Medicaid enrollees, many of which are children and seniors. Drastic cuts in federal funding will leave untold numbers without care and make it increasingly burdensome for local hospitals and community health centers to provide vital services. Health care is a basic need and the budgetary cuts the GOP is attempting to make will decimate our health care system in Queens and beyond.”

Representative Adriano Espaillat said, “House Republicans remind us daily where their loyalties lie, even if it means supporting Donald Trump’s budget cuts that put millions of Americans at risk of becoming uninsured and hospitals in peril of losing critical funding to care for patients around the nation. The GOP’s attack on Medicaid harms more than 500,000 Medicaid recipients in my district, and I am doing all that it takes to combat these reckless policies that threaten our communities and health care throughout our state.”

Representative Joe Morelle said, “President Trump’s plan to slash funding for Medicaid and the Essential Plan would take health care coverage away from thousands of Rochester residents, including vulnerable children and retirees. These reckless cuts would overwhelm emergency rooms with uncompensated care and devastate both our health care system and local economy. We cannot let this happen—I will continue fighting in Congress to protect these lifesaving programs.”

Representative Dan Goldman said, “The Trump/Republican budget bill puts billionaires first and working-class Americans last. Every New York Republican in the House has voted to support the framework of a Republican budget that would strip away health care from nearly 14 million people, cut taxes for billionaires and raise taxes on working-class Americans, gut food benefits for the poor, maintain the Trump SALT cap, cancel clean energy projects, and increase the deficit by trillions of dollars. This bill is a betrayal of GOP campaign promises and the promise that the American Dream is accessible to everyone. New York Republicans must be held accountable for turning their backs on their own constituents.”

Representative Tom Suozzi said, “The Reconciliation Budget bill will hit NY hospitals and nursing homes hard, while cutting health insurance for millions of Americans. These cuts will happen while giving unnecessary tax cuts to the wealthiest among us while adding $4 trillion to the deficit. I will keep up the fight for the health care New Yorkers deserve.”

Representative Timothy M. Kennedy said, “Despite months of insisting they would not cut Medicaid, House Republicans are showing their true colors, eliminating critical social safety nets in order to force through a budget-busting tax break for billionaires. As families struggle to make ends meet, the House Republicans’ spending bill shows where their true priorities lie: helping the ultra-rich over their working-class constituents. Western New Yorkers cannot afford this anti-working family agenda.”

Representative George Latimer said, “Everyday Americans will suffer if the Republicans’ budget becomes law. 196,000 people in my district will have their healthcare taken away - from children to seniors, and the disabled. I’m sure the state and hospitals will step in the best they can, but care will be much more expensive if these Medicaid cuts go into effect. For what? Tax breaks for billionaires. It’s unconscionable.”

Representative Josh Riley said, “The House Republicans’ dangerous budget reconciliation bill would rip health care away from nearly 14 million Americans, including 1.5 million New Yorkers. Let’s be clear: this is an attack on the health care millions of families rely on, and it has nothing to do with fighting fraud, waste, or abuse. These cuts would fall hardest on children, women, seniors, and people with disabilities. It’s a shameful assault on the most vulnerable in our society, all to bankroll tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. Every member of New York’s Congressional Delegation has a moral obligation to vote no on this devastating bill. To do anything less would be a callous betrayal of the New York families we represent.”

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “While House Republicans in Washington are advancing a budget that would devastate New York’s health care system—stripping coverage from 1.2 million New Yorkers and costing our state more than $11 billion annually—we are doing the opposite. In our state budget, we’ve expanded mental health services, restored funding to distressed hospitals, and invested in reproductive and primary care access. We are protecting people, not cutting them off. This federal proposal is not just reckless—it’s cruel. Every New Yorker should contact their member of Congress and demand they reject this dangerous plan. We can’t stand by while Washington plays politics with people’s lives.”

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said, “This decision will devastate New Yorkers seeking healthcare and providers all across our state. It’s time for the Republican members of New York’s congressional delegation to stand up and stand against this decision that will harm their constituents directly.”

Greater New York Hospital Association President Ken Raske said, “These proposals will strip health coverage from millions of hardworking individuals, drive up uncompensated care costs for financially struggling hospitals, and shift unsustainable costs to New York State. The Ways and Means Committee’s immigration coverage provision alone could cost our hospitals $1.3 billion per year from uncompensated care increases and lower reimbursement levels. This will harm all patients, not just those with Medicaid coverage. These proposals will wreck New York’s hospital system.”

Healthcare Association of New York State President Bea Grause said, “The House budget reconciliation bill threatens to shatter New York’s already fragile healthcare system. This perfect storm of a bill threatens our patients’ access to care, the jobs our healthcare system supports and the economies of our local communities. Washington should be advancing bills that ensure our hospitals, nursing homes and other providers are there when New Yorkers need them. This bill does the opposite. HANYS calls on every member of the New York Congressional delegation to vote no on this bill.”