FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 2nd, 2025
“Rural Health Care in Upstate New York Could Collapse” Because of Stefanik and Lawler’s Vote To Gut Medicaid
Gutting Medicaid Could Create a “Medical Desert” In Stefanik’s District and Devastate “Rural Hospitals, Nursing Homes, And Clinics”
NEW YORK – Elise Stefanik and Mike Lawler’s vote for the largest Medicaid cut in history could cause rural health care in Upstate New York to “collapse” and create a “medical desert” in Stefanik’s district, according to rural doctors and community leaders. Trump’s budget cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act would devastate nursing homes, Planned Parenthood clinics, rural hospitals, and more throughout the region while ripping away coverage from 2 million New Yorkers across the state.
New York Focus: Small Towns, Big Stakes: How Medicaid Cuts Threaten Health Care in the Adirondacks
By Clara Hemphill
- From nursing homes to Planned Parenthood clinics, rural health care in Upstate New York could collapse under proposed Republican budget changes.
. - [Physician John] Rugge says the federal cuts in health care spending — projected at $715 billion over the next 10 years — could have a devastating impact, not just on the New Yorkers who will lose insurance, but also on the rural hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics that rely on Medicaid payments. If a hospital or nursing home is forced to lay off workers or to close entirely, he said, everyone in the community suffers, including those who have private insurance or enough money to pay out of pocket.
. - “What we could see is a medical desert from Glens Falls to Plattsburgh,” a vast area stretching from below the Adirondack Park to the Canadian border some 114 miles away, he said.
. - Twenty-eight percent of the residents in the congressional district that includes the Adirondacks rely on Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people. Half of births and two-thirds of nursing home residents are covered by Medicaid.
. - Rural hospitals and nursing homes operate on razor thin margins, and many have been losing money for years. Nearly a third of rural hospitals in New York are at immediate risk of closing, according to the Center for Health Care Quality and Payment Reform, a national policy center. Maternity care is particularly vulnerable.
. - The bulk of House Republicans’ planned health care cuts — $625 billion — would come from Medicaid. The remainder would come from changes to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which helps individuals pay for private insurance and also pays for the Essential Plan, New York’s free program for people with somewhat higher incomes than Medicaid allows.
. - [Rugge] leads a nonpartisan group, the Health Care Coalition for the North Country, that has been meeting with local town and county officials and encouraging them to write to their federal representatives, particularly Rep. Elise Stefanik, about the importance of Medicaid to their communities.
. - Planned Parenthood of the North Country operates seven clinics that serve a vast region stretching 165 miles along two-lane roads, from Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain to Watertown near Lake Ontario. Patients may drive an hour or more to reach a clinic, and nearly half rely on Medicaid.
. - CEO Crystal Collette said Planned Parenthood is the only health care provider for about one-third of their patients, most of whom are young. They rely on Planned Parenthood not only for birth control and abortions, but also to check their blood pressure, screen for cancer, test for sexually transmitted diseases, and treat urinary tract infections.
. - The House bill would go much further; it would cancel all federal funding for Planned Parenthood — including for the routine health care that the organization offers… Without payments from Medicaid, Planned Parenthood would be faced with many more patients who have no ability to pay.
Stefanik, Lawler, and New York House Republicans’ vote for the largest cut to Medicaid in history will rip away health care from over 2 million New Yorkers – all to pay for tax breaks for their billionaire donors.
- Over 2 million New Yorkers could lose their health care under the Republican budget proposal.
. - Republicans are pushing to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid – the largest cut in history that “could devastate New York’s Medicaid program.”
.- These Medicaid cuts would eliminate over 215,000 jobs statewide, scale back hospital services, and jeopardize women’s health care for 100,000 New Yorkers.
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- These Medicaid cuts would eliminate over 215,000 jobs statewide, scale back hospital services, and jeopardize women’s health care for 100,000 New Yorkers.
- The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that Republicans’ plan to gut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will rip away coverage from over 13 million Americans – including over 30,000 people in each of Stefanik and Lawler’s districts.
.- The CBO also says Republicans’ budget bill could force $500 billion in cuts to Medicare.
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- The CBO also says Republicans’ budget bill could force $500 billion in cuts to Medicare.
- Republicans’ reckless budget bill adds to the deficit and rigs the economy for the billionaires at the expense of hardworking New Yorkers:
.- Axios: “For many, notably high earners and the wealthy, it will mean more money in the bank. Others will have to scramble to stay fed or get health care… The bottom line: The outlook isn’t so beautiful for the poorest Americans.”
. - New York Times: “Some taxpayers may actually be left in worse financial shape if the bill becomes law… many Americans who make less than $51,000 a year would see their after-tax income fall as a result of the Republican proposal beginning in 2026… By contrast, the top 0.1 percent, including those with incomes over $4.3 million, would gain on average more than $389,000 in after-tax income in 2026.”
. - Washington Post: “GOP tax bill on track to add more than $2.5 trillion to U.S. deficit”
- Axios: “For many, notably high earners and the wealthy, it will mean more money in the bank. Others will have to scramble to stay fed or get health care… The bottom line: The outlook isn’t so beautiful for the poorest Americans.”
