July 4, 2025
FROM GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL: “Elise Stefanik and every New York House Republican caved to Donald Trump and voted for final passage of Donald Trump’s Big Ugly Bill – threatening health care for 1.5 million New Yorkers. The budget bill includes the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance in history in order to pay for tax breaks for Donald Trump’s special interest donors. Health care leaders, business executives, and the GOP’s own constituents have repeatedly warned about the damage this bill would do to New Yorkers’ lives. Stefanik and her House Republican colleagues ignored their constituents’ warnings and voted for the bill Donald Trump demanded they pass. As the Governor holds the GOP accountable, health care leaders across New York have been sounding the alarm on the devastating impacts of Stefanik, Lawler, and New York House Republicans’ efforts to gut health care:
Elderwood nursing home Administrator Heidi Schempp: “Can you imagine not being able to see your spouse because they had to move into a nursing home far away?… It’s just devastating.”
Clifton-Fine Hospital CEO Dierdre Sorrell: “Rural hospitals already operate on razor-thin margins and have been losing money for years, we certainly aren’t in a financial position to backfill these massive cuts… Certainly it’ll give you a sicker population… Your mortality rates will probably be higher, and I think you’ll see a lot of little hospitals closing that just won’t be able to afford to cover that self-pay.”
Hudson Headwaters Health Network Founder Dr. John Rugge: “It hurts the institutions, and that means it hurts everybody… What we could see is a medical desert from Glens Falls to Plattsburgh.”
Iroquois Healthcare Association President Kevin Kerwin: “Hospitals have a legal, moral and missionary obligation to treat… Whether you have insurance or don’t have insurance— it makes no difference. If you don’t have insurance, that means the hospital won’t be paid for those services.”
Healthcare Association of New York State: “No matter what health insurance you have, the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Act will impact you.”
