LAST CHANCE TO ACT: Call Congress to Oppose Cuts and Changes to Medicaid

(July 1, 2025) The federal budget reconciliation process is moving quickly. Today, July 1^st, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the budget bill with a final vote of 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie. The Senate version of the bill will now be sent back to the House of Representatives for approval/consideration. Congressional leadership continues to aim to deliver the budget bill to the President's desk by July 4^th.

We need members to join us in advocating against the latest version of the federal budget bill NOW, as it includes many measures that will negatively impact long-term care and aging services. The budget bill is estimated to cost NY at least $13.5 billion annually. Unfortunately, because the Senate bill includes additional changes to provider taxes and a reduction in the federal match for Medicaid expansion states such as NY, the Senate version of the bill will cost NY billions more in federal funding, on top of the estimated $13.5 billion.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) posted its score for the Senate’s budget language on June 29^th. CBO estimates:

11.8 million people will lose health insurance;
nearly $1 trillion will be cut from Medicaid spending; and
there will be more than $130 billion in additional cuts resulting from policy changes limiting the use of provider taxes and state directed payments.

New York lawmakers have also issued statements regarding fiscal impacts of the budget bill, including press releases from the Governor, the State Senate Majority Leader and the Assembly Speaker.

LeadingAge NY member advocacy is most critical right now! Please join us in contacting your members of Congress TODAY to urge them to oppose cuts and policy changes that will negatively impact aging services providers, older adults, and individuals living with disabilities in NY. Please send emails AND call today!

Click here to send an email to Congress, as soon as possible.
Please call your representatives early and often with the below talking points. Click here to find your House member and call their offices. You can also call the congressional switchboard and ask to speak with your representative: 202-224-3121.

Call your member of Congress with the following talking points as soon as possible:

My name is ____, and I work at [Organization], serving your district.
I’m calling to urge you to oppose the budget reconciliation package, as it includes some extremely harmful proposals which will decimate New York's aging services providers who care for older adults and people living with disabilities.
The budget bill being considered by Congress is being rushed through without adequate input from stakeholders and constituents. Meanwhile, the bill would cut almost $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funding.
NYS has estimated that the previous House budget bill would cost New Yorkers $13.5 billion in health care costs alone. New Yorkers would lose billions more in funding if health provisions passed by the Senate are also included in a final budget bill.
These billions of dollars in cuts to NY will put massive financial strain on health care providers, and consumers will feel the impact.
Providers will be forced to either reduce services to balance budgets or close entirely. Jobs will be lost, and hard-working New Yorkers will lose access to quality care in their communities.
I urge you to OPPOSE this bill and any budget proposals that would negatively impact NY’s health care system, including:
caps on provider taxes which will result in substantial reductions in federal funding for New York State;
changes in the federal share of Medicaid;
changes to retroactive Medicaid coverage;
work requirements (which will impose heavy administrative burden on providers and county governments); and
any other measures that would reduce the amount of funding available to NY's nonprofit health care providers, like us.
New York is already experiencing a crisis in access to care. Please do not make matters worse by cutting critical funding that New Yorkers have worked hard for and deserve.
I urge you to stop this bad bill and oppose these harmful proposals that will hurt New Yorkers.
Aging New Yorkers are depending on you.
Thank you for your time.

_______________________

LeadingAge National has been providing ongoing updates and resources to keep members informed and engaged in federal advocacy efforts, including:

analysis and summaries of key provisions of budget reconciliation bills here.
issue briefs and talking points on budget reconciliation here.
advocacy action items here.
Policy Pulse calls for members only.

A LeadingAge National article comparing the Senate bill text to the House version is available here. Over the weekend, there were additional changes to the earlier version of the Senate bill, but many of the most concerning proposals remained in the bill. Read more on the latest changes related to aging, from LeadingAge National, here.

Please reach out to the LeadingAge NY Advocacy and Public Policy team with any questions.

Contact: Sarah Daly, sdaly@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8845