US Senator Chuck Schumer was in Auburn on Tuesday. Joined by staff from Auburn Community Hospital (ACH) and other nearby hospitals, union representatives, and local officials, he held a press conference at Auburn Hospital, speaking out about the Republican-backed cuts to Medicaid passed as part of the “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
“But worst of all, they slashed Medicaid, and a county like this is dependent on Medicaid; a hospital like this is dependent on Medicaid. It was the biggest cut in Medicaid history, and it’s going to have devastation [sic] in terms of what kind of healthcare people get, in terms of job loss, in terms of so much,” said Senator Schumer.
According to the senior senator from New York, 35% of people in Cayuga County “receive Medicaid assistance or are enrolled in an essential plan,” and ACH receives more than $40 million, or 1/4 of its total patient business, from Medicaid. Due to the cuts, Senator Schumer said that 32,000 Central New York residents will lose access to Medicaid.
“That’s not just a statistic; that’s a mother or a father or a daughter or a son, a niece, a nephew, a cousin, or a dear friend who’s going to say ‘my daughter has cancer. What am I going to do without healthcare?"”
Senator Schumer added that he’s introducing legislation to “permanently repeal Trump’s healthcare cuts” and is encouraging people to contact their federal representatives and demand they support the proposed legislation.
Also speaking at the conference were ACH President and CEO Scott Berlucchi, nurse and union representative Mike Richmond, Vice President of Operations at St Joseph’s Hospital Meredith Price, and Cayuga County Legislature Chair Jonathan Anna.
The full press conference can be viewed below.
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