What New Yorkers Are Saying About the House Budget
For Immediate Release: May 22, 2025
Contact: Rose Ryan 212.814.2778, Rose.Ryan@1199.org
What New Yorkers Are Saying About the House Budget
Below are statements from New York advocacy groups, healthcare providers, labor unions, and others on the budget bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives early this morning.
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East: “The House budget represents a massive and appalling giveaway to billionaires at the expense of children, seniors, people with disabilities, working families and their healthcare. New York Republicans shamefully reneged on their promises to their constituents to protect Medicaid, instead voting for the largest cut in history—an unprecedented $625 billion. The devastation of this budget extends even beyond Medicaid to the Affordable Care Act funding benefitting millions of New Yorkers. The healthcare workers of 1199SEIU call on the Senate to reverse these egregious cuts, which Americans overwhelmingly oppose, to avoid devastating consequences to the health and wellbeing of millions of people.”
Lisa Lacasse, President of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN): “If approved by the U.S. Senate and implemented, these cuts will directly increase the number of uninsured individuals across the country, raise overall health care costs, and negatively impact state budgets. Most critically, these reductions will deny millions of people access to affordable, quality health care, which is crucial for the prevention, detection, treatment and survival of cancer.”
Carolyn Martinez-Class and Rebecca Garrard, Interim Co-Executive Directors at Citizen Action of New York: "New York Republicans in the House, including Reps. Lawler and Malliotakis, voted to abandon millions of New Yorkers by backing a cruel, extremist, big ugly Republican budget that guts healthcare, slashes food assistance, and shreds the basic supports our communities depend on—all to hand even more tax giveaways to billionaires and the ultra-wealthy. This budget is nothing short of economic violence on working class New Yorkers. These so-called representatives chose billionaires over babies, corporations over communities, and greed over human life. It's been made crystal clear: they don’t work for us — they work for the ultra-rich — and Citizen Action of New York will make sure voters remember that at the ballot box in 2026."
Mary E. Sullivan, President, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA): “The House of Representatives vote is nothing short of an attack on working people. The reconciliation bill takes a chainsaw to public services, including Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and food assistance programs that benefit the neediest New Yorkers. This is all happening because billionaires want to fill their wallets even more on the backs of working people.”
Community Health Care Association of New York State: "One in every eight people in New York relies on a Community Health Center for care – and more than 60% of those people are covered by Medicaid. Without Medicaid, Community Health Centers cannot survive," said Rose Duhan, CHCANYS President and CEO. "We asked our representatives in Washington to protect Community Health Centers and their patients by standing up for Medicaid and the people who rely on it for care. Instead, they lined up to vote yes on a bill that will cost 1.5 million New Yorkers their health insurance, putting patients and the Health Centers that serve them in jeopardy. New Yorkers deserve better."
David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society: “By passing this bill, which is the biggest health care cut in New York’s history, New York’s Republicans have made it clear that they’re more interested in protecting tax breaks for the wealthy than ensuring healthcare for low-income families.Calling this a 'big beautiful bill' is an insult to the millions who will suffer because of it. There is nothing beautiful about causing millions of low- and moderate-income New Yorkers to lose their Medicaid coverage by imposing stringent work requirements under the false promise of accountability. This bill will deepen inequality, increase suffering, and push millions further to the margins.”
Mike Alvaro, President & CEO of CP State: “The House just voted to advance proposals that would devastate New York’s health care system - especially for people with disabilities. This isn’t about red tape, and it’s not about ‘waste, fraud, and abuse.’ It’s about real people losing real care. New York State estimates more than $11 billion in annual funding losses, and up to 1.2 million New Yorkers could lose their Medicaid or Essential Plan coverage.
Parents are scared. Providers are overwhelmed. And people with disabilities are asking if they'll still get the services they depend on to live independently. More than half of Essential Plan funding would be eliminated, and nearly all services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are at risk because they rely on Medicaid. These proposals threaten care, dignity, and independence - and New Yorkers cannot afford them.”
Healthcare Education Project: “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 calls for one of the largest cuts to healthcare in American history, and will have serious consequences for the health and economic prosperity of New Yorkers. More than a million New Yorkers stand to lose their healthcare coverage, and their hospitals and nursing homes will lose billions in annual funding, cuts that will harm services for everyone, not just those on public insurance. Despite what some members of Congress have claimed, these wrenching cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will not address waste, fraud and abuse, and they will not decrease the need for healthcare services.”
Winifred Schiff, CEO, Inter Agency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Inc.: “The House vote today, would strip Medicaid funding that ensures healthcare to New Yorkers in every corner of the state including the Direct Support Professionals who provide life preserving and affirming supports and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A cut to Medicaid funding affects every New Yorker who relies on Medicaid to live the kind of life that others take for granted. Two million New Yorkers stand to lose healthcare access because of these cuts! We look to the Senate to reject these disastrously short-sighted proposals.”
Long Island Progressive Coalition Executive Director Joe Sackman: “Trump and the GOP’s Big Beautiful Bill is a Butcher’s Bill. 4.5 Trillion tax break for the ultra-wealthy is a direct economic attack on the working families of this nation, tax breaks which included an incentive for GOP votes by increasing the cap for State and Local Tax deductions is like pouring salt in the wound of every New Yorker that is going to lose access to healthcare. This bill will create a financial and health crisis for millions of Americans if it ever passes the Senate. No budget should ever be designed or passed that creates so much suffering.”
Lara Kassel, Coalition Coordinator, Medicaid Matters New York: “The House vote to decimate Medicaid – rushed and without full public awareness of what the bill entails – is unconscionable. Gutting Medicaid funding will kick people out of coverage, force health care providers to close their doors, and drive states into financial peril. Anyone who did not vote ‘no’ this morning must understand the House bill is a direct attack on constituents in every NY House district. New Yorkers in every corner of our state will feel the impact of this action, whether they have Medicaid or not.”
Thomas T. Lee, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President of the Medical Society of the State of New York: “We appreciate that the proposal would take some steps to help prevent unsustainable Medicare payment cuts in the future. However, these modest benefits are significantly outweighed by the enormous cuts to Medicaid funding in other portions of this proposal that would greatly exacerbate the challenges already facing New York’s already fragile healthcare delivery system and the millions of patients it serves”
Fred Riccardi, President, Medicare Rights Center: “Today, the House of Representatives passed a reckless budget bill that threatens health coverage for New Yorkers who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. It puts older adults, people with disabilities, and families at risk—all to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. As the bill heads to the Senate, we urge Senators to reject this harmful plan and protect the care our communities depend on.”
Eric Linzer, President & CEO, New York Health Plan Association: “Health care coverage is a vital protection for the health and well-being of New Yorkers. This morning’s passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” slashes funding for Medicaid and the Essential Plan, threatening the coverage for individuals who rely on these programs. It will increase the number of uninsured and result in higher premiums for those who remain covered. As the budget reconciliation process moves forward, the focus should be on measures that protect these programs to keep individuals covered and make health care more affordable.”
Mario Cilento, President of the New York State AFL-CIO: “The budget reconciliation bill passed by House Republican leaders is reckless and will force deep and damaging cuts on the American people, particularly working families. Congress had a clear choice—support working people, seniors, and children, or hand another massive tax break to billionaires and big corporations. Every lawmaker who backed this bill chose the wealthy, sticking working-class families with paying the bill. They voted to potentially rip health care away from millions, cut jobs, reduce federal workers’ pensions, and undo hard-won protections for workers' health, safety, and privacy. The fight is not over. The Senate is the next battleground. Working people, united, will not back down.”
New York State Nurses Association Executive Director Pat Kane, RN: "The budget bill that the House just passed will decimate our healthcare system and put millions of lives in jeopardy. Over a million New Yorkers will lose their healthcare and others will face higher costs, more denials, and more paperwork--all in the service of providing huge tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires. Shame on New York's Republican representatives who voted for this bill that will cause irreparable harm to our communities and lead to a loss of healthcare jobs, services, and entire hospitals. Nurses urge the Senate to do the right thing and put the health and economic security of the majority over billionaires and special interests."
Lindsey Vigoda, New York Director of Small Business Majority: "We're deeply concerned that the U.S. House of Representatives voted to cut funding for Medicaid and implement stricter eligibility and income verification processes for ACA Marketplace enrollment because those combined policies could lead to the loss of health coverage for many New York small business owners and their employees. Our research found that 57% of small business owners oppose cuts to Medicaid, an unsurprising finding given the volume of small businesses that rely on Medicaid. This is a devastating blow to our Main Street businesses across New York that rely on accessible healthcare to maintain their health and participation in community."
Therese Daly, President of United Way of New York State & 211 New York: "We are deeply disappointed by the House’s decision to move forward with this reconciliation package. This vote represents a missed opportunity to invest in the well-being of working families, children, and communities across New York State and the nation. As indicated in our 2025 ALICE Report, 48% of the families in New York are struggling. Many of whom are still struggling to recover from the economic and social impacts of the past few years, and we needed bold, compassionate leadership—what we received instead was a step backward. We thank those of the New York Delegation that stood strongly against these cuts and appreciate them and their leadership. The United Way of New York State will continue to advocate for policies that lift families out of poverty, support essential services, and build a stronger, more equitable future for all.
###