Press Releases

With Enacted Medicaid Cuts, 25% of Nursing Homes Nationwide Face Threat of Closure, Creating Massive Burden for Families and Other Unpaid Caregivers

BUFFALO, NY – Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) joined community leaders at the Schofield Residence Nursing Facility to denounce the devastating impact that Medicaid cuts, authorized in Trump and Congressional Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill, will have on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Western New York. Kennedy warned that 25% of nursing homes are at risk of closure with these massive cuts to Medicaid. 

Standing alongside members of 1199SEIU, the New York State Nurses Association, and local elected officials, Kennedy warned that the cuts to Medicaid signed into law by President Trump will gut care for seniors, eliminate jobs, and force facilities to close their doors. 

“The cuts in Trump and Congressional Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill will put our nursing homes and long-term care facilities on life support,” said Congressman Kennedy. “The impact will be felt in all communities - urban, suburban, and rural alike. There is still time to go back to the drawing board - it’s time for Congressional Republicans to stand up for their constituents and cancel these cuts. At a time when facilities are already struggling to provide essential care, we need to be investing in long-term care, not dismantling it. Lives depend on it.”

Healthcare providers stressed that already-strained facilities would face impossible choices if federal Medicaid funding is slashed, putting patient safety and staffing levels at serious risk.

“The cuts to healthcare within the budget reconciliation bill will devastate our communities, leaving nearly 17 million people uninsured and saddle hospitals with $63 billion in uncompensated care,” said Grace Bogdanove, Vice President of 1199SEIU United Health Care Workers East. “In New York alone, we’d lose $61.6 billion in federal health funding. That means cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and home care — triggering layoffs, hour reductions, longer wait times, facility closures, and irreversible harm to the workers and patients who rely on this system. Quality nursing homes across WNY, many of which are already underfunded, will undoubtedly face closure, leaving vulnerable community members without the care that they need.”

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, "NYSNA nurses strongly condemn the passage of this bill that will gut healthcare and other essential services our communities need and rely on. At a time when nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are struggling with funding, we should be investing in care, not gutting it. Shame on our elected officials and others who supported this bill, which will force millions of Americans to be uninsured, shutter nursing homes, and lead to millions of job losses. As vocal patient advocates, we will continue to resist the disastrous effects of this bill and fight for the health and safety of our most vulnerable communities.” 

“The recent federal budget cuts will worsen the significant challenges nursing homes in New York have been facing for years,” said Christopher E. Koenig, President and Chief Executive Officer of Niagara Lutheran Health System. “This will further strain an already inadequate Medicaid reimbursement system in New York, which covers roughly 75% of nursing home days but only a portion of the actual cost of care. The consequences will ripple throughout the healthcare system, leading to even greater hospital backlogs as patients ready for discharge face a lack of available nursing home beds. Nursing homes provide a critical safety net for the community, offering essential 24-hour care that cannot be easily replaced, especially with current reimbursement rates. Both state and federal governments are urged to provide support to prevent more nursing home beds from closing, skilled workers in Western New York from losing jobs, and those receiving care from being denied the quality of life they deserve.”

“I am deeply concerned about the current President’s reconciliation bill and the negative effect it may have on long-term care facility workers and residents,” said Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes. “I believe what the current President is proposing will hurt people, period. I applaud my friend, Congressman Tim Kennedy, 1199SEIU, and residents for standing up to this administration and speaking out about the dangers within this bill.”

Senator Sean Ryan said "The devastating cuts to healthcare created by Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump are going to hurt the people of Buffalo and Western New York, especially some of our most vulnerable populations like those living in long-term care facilities. Shame on all those who enacted these cuts in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. My thanks to Congressman Kennedy for fighting for us and our region in Washington and working hard to push back against these backwards policies."

"Because of this heartless Republican reconciliation law, the well-being of potentially millions of long-term care facility residents will be severely undermined,” said Senator April N.M. Baskin. “As the federal deficit skyrockets and the wealthy enjoy tax breaks, significant cuts to Medicaid will result in the most vulnerable populations losing access to the essential care provided by long-term care facilities. At a time when people are living longer, the very care they deserve and need is becoming more difficult to access and creating undue stress for older residents and their loved ones."

"The sweeping Medicaid cuts delivered by Republicans are a direct attack on the most vulnerable in our communities, and the elderly within each of our families,” said Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera. “When nursing homes are forced to close, that’s a business shutting down. And employees losing their jobs. But it’s also seniors and people with disabilities being displaced from the place they have called home for years. It is families suddenly burdened with the emotional and logistical strain of finding new care. These cuts weaken our healthcare system and they destroy the foundation of how we care for one another. This Republican-fueled policy will lead to deaths that would otherwise have been preventable." 

“This legislation would devastate long-term care facilities in Erie County and across the country,” said Legislator Taisha St. Jean-Tard. “It jeopardizes the health, dignity, and security of our most vulnerable residents. I stand united with Congressman Kennedy, 1199SEIU, and the  residents in opposing any proposal that puts corporate profits ahead of patient care.

“The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill is really just one big betrayal of working class and struggling families,” said Councilwoman Zeneta Everhart. “The truth is this regressive legislation takes a chainsaw to our social safety net. Because of these cuts, millions of Americans will become uninsured, countless hospitals and nursing homes will be forced to close, and critical social programs like SNAP will be gutted. I stand with Congressman Kennedy and our lifesaving healthcare workers in calling out these cruel attacks on working people and medical providers.”

Background:

The Republicans’ reconciliation bill included more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. The bill alone is estimated to leave 17 million Americans, including 1.4 million low-income seniors and people with disabilities, without health insurance. In New York alone, 1.5 million residents will lose health coverage, and the state will see $8 billion in cuts to its health systems.

As a former healthcare practitioner and the only occupational therapist in Congress, Kennedy reaffirmed his commitment to fighting these cuts. He is working to ensure that seniors and healthcare professionals receive the essential funding they count on and the dignity they deserve.

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