Cuts to Medicaid Proposed by Congressional Republicans Would Have a Devastating Impact on Health Care Access for Residents in the Hudson Valley - Families USA Skip to Main Content
03.21.2025 / Press Release

Cuts to Medicaid Proposed by Congressional Republicans Would Have a Devastating Impact on Health Care Access for Residents in the Hudson Valley

Families USA’s New Fact Sheet Highlights Importance of Medicaid for NY-17’s Families

PLEASANTVILLE, NY – A new fact sheet from Families USA details the impacts of deep cuts to the Medicaid program in the Republican budget proposal that Rep. Michael Lawler voted for, which would have devastating consequences for the health and economic security of the Hudson Valley. Medicaid provides health care coverage for 79,500 children in the Hudson Valley, and 30,800 women of reproductive age, according to the fact sheet.

“Americans have been showing up in townhalls, calling their representatives in Congress and demanding that Republicans in Washington stop their plan to massively cut the health care that Americans want and need,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA. “The proposed deep cuts to Medicaid would be devastating for New York residents, resulting in significant coverage losses, forcing rural hospitals, long-term care facilities or community clinics to close or scale back services, and throwing state budgets into crisis. We should all be asking every member of Congress who voted for this budget why they are willing to harm working families in their own district just to pay for a tax break for billionaires.”

Medicaid is a lifeline for the Hudson Valley:

  • 79,500 children — 39% of all children living in NY-17.
  • 30,800 women of reproductive age are on Medicaid — 27% of those age 19 to 44 in NY-17.
  • 33,900 seniors and people with disabilities have Medicaid coverage.

Families in the Hudson Valley Already Struggle to Pay for Health Care:

  • 68% of Westchester County and Hudson Valley residents are worried about their ability to pay for a major illness.
  • 59% of Westchester County and Hudson Valley residents are worried about their ability to pay for their usual health care services.
  • More than 900,000 New Yorkers report having medical debt in a given year

Families USA, the longtime health care consumer advocate, is organizing with groups in New York and across the nation to protect Medicaid from severe cuts, caps or other regulations that will result in millions of Americans losing access to the health care they need. Earlier this year, Families USA led hundreds of organizations to call on Congress and the Trump administration to reject cuts to Medicaid and work to make health care more affordable, not less.

For additional resources, see Families USA’s fact sheets on how work reporting requirements would undermine access to Medicaid, how cuts harm families and communities, and the overall importance of Medicaid to people, the economy and the health care system.

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