Kennedy: As We Warned, Healthcare Cuts Are Closing Facilities, Driving Up Premiums, And Putting WNY in Danger

Standing With Organized Labor, Healthcare Practitioners, and Patients, Kennedy Called on Congressional Republicans to Cancel the Cuts

GOP's Budget Resolution Fails to Extend ACA Tax Credits, Hiking Premiums By 75% for Patients

BUFFALO, NY - Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) stood outside of Buffalo Therapy Services in Amherst, which is slated to close in November, to sound the alarm on a deepening healthcare crisis spurred by President Trump and Congressional Republicans' Big, Ugly Law.

Back in July, Congressional Republicans passed Trump's sweeping legislative package that, in part, slashes Medicaid funding and allows enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits to expire in order to provide permanent tax cuts for billionaires. At that time, Kennedy joined healthcare workers, labor leaders, and community advocates to warn that Trump's legislation would trigger devastating consequences: facility closures, skyrocketing premiums, degraded services, and millions losing health insurance. Today, those predictions are becoming reality.

"As the only occupational therapist in Congress, I know firsthand the kind of life-changing care that happens inside facilities like this one," said Congressman Kennedy. "At a time when our nation's healthcare system needed to be bolstered, Trump and Congressional Republicans have actively chosen to divest from our healthcare facilities in order to finance an economic agenda that only benefits the ultra-wealthy. We need to go back to Washington, fund the government properly, and cancel the cuts."

Buffalo Therapy Services is one of several facilities set to close later this year - a list that includes the Millard Fillmore Surgery Center and the DeGraff Wellness Center. Kaleida Health has cited the upcoming Medicaid cuts as a key factor in their decision. Additionally, at least eleven rural hospitals in New York State are at risk of closure, threatening to worsen healthcare deserts where families already struggle to access basic care.

The crisis extends beyond facility closures. In the coming weeks, Western New Yorkers who rely on the ACA for their health insurance will receive notices showing an average premium hike of $1,670, a direct result of Congressional Republicans refusal to extend enhanced ACA tax credits. For many families and small businesses, this increase will mean impossible choices between keeping health insurance or paying rent.

Despite these looming threats, last week House Republicans passed a government funding resolution that Kennedy opposed because it did nothing to address the healthcare crisis. The measure failed to extend ACA tax credits, failed to reverse Medicaid cuts, and failed to reduce costs for everyday Americans.

"As a mother, a nurse, and a union leader, I can't imagine anything more cruel than what we're facing right now," said Denise Abbott, President of the Western New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. "What Claudia Tenney and Nick Langworthy voted for, and what Donald Trump signed into law, will take away access to healthcare for nearly 40,000 workers, children, and seniors in our community, and some of them will die because of it. Working people everywhere are being forced to reckon with higher costs and local closures, like this facility in Amherst, so that the billionaires and CEOs can get another tax break. Healthcare shouldn't be about profits, it should be about the patients in need and the providers who can help. That's what our federation will continue to fight for, and we thank Congressman Kennedy for standing with us on this issue."

"The results of these cuts and the failure to address them are unacceptable," said Sarah Buckley, RN, CWA 1168 Political Legislative Action Director. "CWA 1168 appreciates Congressman Kennedy's leadership on this issue. The reduction in services at 705 Maple Rd, Buffalo Therapy Services, and Degraff Wellness Center will lead to untreated debilitating conditions. The miracles I have heard about from patients who learned to walk and speak again through the wrap-around adult neurotherapy, and those who receive life-changing lymphedema treatment, will no longer be possible. The alternative services are either full or too far away for patients to navigate, and this is just the tip of the iceberg-not to mention the services lost with our family planning and ENT clinics, as well as the good union jobs and quality care from our ambulatory surgery center. We need more voices in Congress like Tim Kennedy who will prioritize the community over tax breaks for the super wealthy."

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN said, "NYSNA nurses have been sounding the alarm on the devastating effects that the Trump administration's attack on healthcare would have on patients, healthcare workers, and our communities. We are already seeing cuts to staff and essential services that threaten the safety and well-being of our patients. Nurses demand that hospital administrators put patients first and reverse the cuts that impact quality care. We also call on our elected officials to do all they can to reverse healthcare cuts and are proud to join allies who demand that Congressional Republicans Cancel the Cuts!"

"We've heard about the threats to Medicaid and the disastrous impacts such cuts would mean for our area," said Assemblymember Karen McMahon. "Unfortunately, Western New Yorkers are already feeling the effects as services are being trimmed and access to health care is being limited. Republicans, acting as a simple rubber stamp for the Trump administration, have slashed Medicaid and turned the lives of patients and practitioners upside down. I'm proud to join Congressman Kennedy in condemning these unconscionable cuts and calling on Republicans to pass a continuing resolution to restore essential funding so that people can get the healthcare they need."

Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera said, "The Republican reconciliation law has already dealt devastating blows to Buffalo's health care system, with facility closures forcing families to travel farther for care and putting our most vulnerable neighbors at risk. And with the end of enhanced ACA tax credits looming, working families are now staring down steep increases in their health insurance costs. At a time when we should be strengthening health care access, these shortsighted cuts are dismantling it. I urge Republicans in Congress to end this manufactured crisis and use the continuing resolution to restore stability to our health care system before irreversible damage is done."

"This is not a partisan issue. It's not rural or urban, red or blue," Kennedy continued. "This is about healthcare. Something every single one of us needs and that our loved ones rely on. Republicans must stop playing political games, cancel the cuts, and join Democrats in delivering results that make life healthier, safer, and more affordable for the American people."