Fight Back for Healthcare!
Last month, Congress passed President Trump’s budget reconciliation package, the so-called “One Beautiful Bill.” The bill, which was signed into law on July 4, pushed through tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires while making extreme cuts to essential programs, including Medicaid, and will be devastating for healthcare outcomes, access, and funding in New York.
NYSNA nurses warned elected officials and the public that Medicaid Cuts would have fatal consequences for our patients. A later study confirmed what nurses knew and found that cuts to Medicaid are projected to cause 16,642 premature deaths among adults each year as Americans lose coverage. In New York, 1.2 million people will be newly uninsured due to these cuts and the weakening of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In addition, New York’s hospitals are projected to lose $1.4 billion statewide from federal cuts, leading to a potential loss of 79,000 healthcare jobs, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute.
When Healthcare is Under Attack, What do We Do? Stand Up, Fight Back!
While these figures are sobering, and we were unable to prevent this bill from passing, nurses and healthcare workers are not going to accept the dismantling of our healthcare system. NYSNA members are ready to organize to ensure all New Yorkers have access to care, to restore healthcare funding, and to prevent service closures, staff cuts, and protect our patients. The federal government has failed us, but there is a lot that state and local officials can do to invest in healthcare in New York to preserve greater access to care and protect our most vulnerable patients, including our patients who are immigrants, LGBTQIA+ and low-income.
We must pressure New York City and New York state elected officials to pass budgets that compensate for federal cuts. We must also continue to educate ourselves and our patients on the impact these cuts will have in the immediate future. The first things that will be cut in January 2026 will be New York’s Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax and funding for the Essential Plan, putting the coverage of almost 1 million non-Medicaid-eligible low-income individuals at risk. The worst of the cuts are not expected to go through until after the midterm elections in 2026, a political move made to ensure voters won’t feel the worst impact of these cuts until after the election. That is why NYSNA will continue to sound the alarm about these cuts, advocate for the federal government to restore funding, and organize to hold those who voted for these cuts accountable at the ballot box.
NYSNA nurses must also keep an eye on hospital executives and call out employers like NewYork Presbyterian, who already used the federal budget as an excuse to cut frontline staff and close services, but continue to pay hospital executives millions in salary, benefits, and compensation packages.
NYSNA nurses are not giving up, we’re not letting our patients down, and we won’t let our healthcare system crumble. In August, NYSNA members across New York State attended webinars that covered the impact our communities will see as a result of cuts to healthcare, SNAP, and other public services; a timeline for implementation; and the actions we can take together to hold Congress accountable. Stay tuned for future workshops and webinars. In the meantime, check out this fact sheet to learn the facts about how federal budget cuts will impact New Yorkers!