State senators spoke to health care providers and union members at Crouse Hospital, calling for the state to close a $2 billion gap in federal funding for health care.
Last year, the federal government passed H.R. 1, also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The legislation made significant cuts to Medicaid, particularly to “safety net hospitals” located in low-income and rural areas. Crouse Hospital is one of these facilities, and officials said that more than 26% of its patients receive medicaid support.
“There is nothing beautiful about cutting health care,” State Sen. Chris Ryan said.
State Sen. Rachel May said that even if the goal of the cuts is to save money, she said that the result can be the opposite.
“You end up pushing people into emergency care, which is so much more expensive,” May said.
The rally was held by 1199SEIU, the largest health care union in the nation, and came one day after New York state medical workers rallied in Albany for protections against further federal cuts. The union represents more than 23,000 health care workers in upstate New York alone.
“Health disparities are not new, but budget cuts make them worse,” Gwendolyn Muok, president of the Onondaga County NAACP, said.