Press Releases

Kennedy: Congress Must Cancel the Cuts and Stop the Shutdown

In Kennedy’s District, 63% of Nursing Home Residents Rely on Medicaid Coverage, Threatening Long-term Viability of Critical Services

TONAWANDA, N.Y. - Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) was joined by members of 1199SEIU, residents, and leadership from the McAuley Residence in Tonawanda, New York, to highlight the dire consequences that Congressional Republicans’ massive Medicaid cuts will have on nursing home residents and the facilities they rely on. With 63% of nursing home patients in Kennedy’s district relying on Medicaid, the well-being of thousands of Western New Yorkers, as well as the facilities they rely on, are at severe risk. Kennedy warned that the Medicaid cuts will lead to more facility closures, adding to the pain already felt from the closure of Weinberg Campus in 2024, which upended the lives of hundreds of residents and employees. Kennedy demanded that House Republicans return to Washington to stop the shutdown, cancel the cuts, and extend healthcare tax credits. 

“The hardworking men and women of 1199SEIU provide thoughtful, empathic, and loving care each day to the more than 130 residents of McAuley Residence, a story that is played out each day in dozens of nursing homes across the region,” said Congressman Kennedy. “With 63% of nursing home residents in the region relying on Medicaid coverage, we are careening towards disaster, and we risk the closure of more nursing homes. As an occupational therapist, I know firsthand that when nursing homes close, care is interrupted and, tragically, people die. It’s time for Congressional Republicans to stop playing games with our healthcare. Cancel these deadly cuts and stop the shutdown.”

“1199SEIU members provide essential care and services to the most vulnerable seniors in our community. For decades, unionized healthcare workers have fought hard to win quality benefits and wages to sustain working families in WNY,” said Grace Bogdanove, 1199SEIU Vice President, WNY Nursing Home Division. “Congressional Republicans who recently shut down our government and voted to cut $1.2 trillion dollars in healthcare funding are putting jobs and care for New Yorkers at risk – all to line the pockets of billionaires. As 1 out of every 4 nursing homes face closure due to inadequate funding, already strained hospital systems will continue to be overburdened when these critical long term care and rehabilitative beds go offline.”

“Congressman Kennedy knows our nursing homes – and the compassionate care we provide – well, and has been a tireless partner in Albany, and now in D.C., to shine a light on the financial challenges threatening nursing homes, especially in communities like ours,” said John Durno, Administrator of the McAuley Residence. “More than 90 not-for-profit nursing homes have closed or been sold in the last 10 years in New York, and four – all upstate -- have closed in the last 12 months. It is critical that policymakers at the state and federal level all work to fund nursing homes and adequately reimburse for the care provided. Our region’s elderly deserve to have high quality, skilled care provided in our community.”

Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera said, "Republican leadership’s refusal to cancel these Medicaid cuts is not just a budget issue, it’s a moral failure. Here in Western New York, nursing homes are already stretched thin, struggling to recruit staff and provide the level of care our seniors deserve. If these cuts go through, it will mean fewer beds, fewer caregivers, and more families forced to make impossible choices about their loved ones’ care. We cannot allow Washington’s political games to endanger the health, dignity, and safety of our seniors."

McAuley Residence, operated by Catholic Health and led by the members of 1199SEIU, has an average daily census of 135 and was rated by Newsweek as one of the Top 50 best nursing homes in the nation in 2024.

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