A mounting number of elected officials and organizations from New York are voicing support for the retention of Medicaid in the face of federal funding cuts.
Current health care plans from the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce would cut more than $700 billion in federal funding, largely from Medicaid.
The proposed cuts would be devastating to groups of people who already have the greatest need, said New York Congressman Paul Tonko, who serves on the commerce committee.
“Where do you think they're going to look first? To the most expensive patients, the elderly, the sick, the disabled, well, to the very people Republicans claim they are trying to protect," he said. "Their needs have to be met, but it's going to be delayed, and it ends in costly emergency room visits at hospitals in the ER.”
The impact won’t be limited to areas that lean liberal, said New York Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, who also is on the commerce committee.
“Let me be clear, this isn't just a Democrat or Republican issue," she said. "These cuts will cut, literally, the lifeline to all Americans on Medicaid to essential health care.”
1199SEIU, New York State Nurses Association and others also spoke out earlier this week, calling on New York Congressman Nick Langworthy to stop the cuts from moving forward.
Langworthy maintains that no disabled people are at risk of losing benefits, that it’s only ineligible individuals who will lose access.
“If you're able-bodied and you have no dependents, and you're receiving taxpayer funded Medicaid, you should be expected to work, look for work, or enroll in job training," he said. "And if you're in this country illegally, you should not be receiving a single dollar of Medicaid benefits, period.”
But even among Republicans there are concerns, particularly in the Senate, such as Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who says the proposed cuts would cause children to lose health care and hospitals to close.
