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During the Overnight House Rules Committee Hearing on the Republican Reconciliation Bill, Kennedy Submitted Two Amendments for Consideration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) submitted two amendments to the House Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill to safeguard New York’s healthcare system and ensure continued access to essential services Western New Yorkers rely upon. 

Kennedy’s first amendment would have prevented a devastating doubling in the state cost share for Medicaid expansion expenses. New York, a Medicaid expansion state, currently covers 10 percent of Medicaid costs under the Affordable Care Act. Without Kennedy’s amendment, state cost shares would double to 20 percent, resulting in approximately $900 million in annual Medicaid expenses for New York. 

Kennedy offered a second amendment, which would have removed Section 44126, a provision from the Republican reconciliation bill that prohibits Medicaid funding for nonprofit and community health centers that focus on family planning, provide reproductive care, and rely on Medicaid payments to administer care. Congressman Kennedy’s amendment would prevent these devastating cuts and allow community health centers in WNY to deliver care to patients in need.

Kennedy slammed his Republican colleagues for their “attempt to shove this bill down the throats of the American people, and frankly, some members of their own party, in the middle of the night.” Kennedy told Republican leadership that he and his Democratic colleagues showed up to “shed light on what you are hoping to hide from the American people.”

Despite Republican opposition to his common-sense amendments, Congressman Kennedy remains committed to fighting for equitable access to affordable healthcare and protecting working families, children, seniors, and veterans from the Republican majority’s egregious threats to Medicaid. 

“As an occupational therapist, I’ve worked with patients young and old, people who rely on Medicaid for necessary care. I’ve seen what happens when patients delay care because they can’t afford it: minor conditions become chronic, emergency room wait times lengthen, and hospitals can’t absorb the cost.” said Kennedy. “In cutting Medicaid, we don’t eliminate the need for care, we just eliminate access to care. And for those who aren’t on Medicaid, we only make care more expensive and harder to get. We force families to choose between medicine and groceries. We push more patients into overcrowded ERs. And we risk lives.”

To see Congressman Kennedy’s full remarks before the House Rules Committee, visit here.

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