Rep. Gillen Hosts Roundtable on Impact of Rising Health Care Costs on Long Islanders

ROOSEVELT, NY - Yesterday, Congresswoman Laura Gillen (NY-04) hosted a roundtable discussion on the impact of rising health care costs on Long Islanders at Harmony Health in Roosevelt. Rep. Gillen was joined by Vanessa Baird-Streeter, CEO of the Health and Welfare Council of LI; David Nemiroff, CEO of Harmony Health; Stacey Jackson-Harley, COO of Harmony Health; Karen Brandon, a Floral Park resident and two Harmony Health patient board members from Freeport and Roosevelt.

"I hear from Long Islanders all the time that health care is too expensive. I'm fighting in Congress to lower costs and ensure every family has access to affordable health care," said Rep. Gillen. "I'm grateful to everyone who joined this round table and shared their story. I will continue to bring these stories with me to Washington to fight for Nassau County."

During the roundtable, Rep. Gillen and the community contributors highlighted the growing challenge of unaffordable healthcare costs facing Long Islanders and discussed the importance of ensuring residents across New York's 4th Congressional District have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare. They also discussed ways to lower insurance premiums and prescription costs for families across Long Island. Rep. Gillen heard directly from attendees about their experiences and shared how she will continue to fight for them in Washington, D.C.

Since taking office, Rep. Gillen has worked to expand access to affordable, high-quality health care and protect critical health programs for Long Island families. She has fought against Republican cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, led and signed bipartisan letters opposing policies that would increase health care costs or jeopardize cancer research and safety-net hospitals, and called on congressional leadership to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Rep. Gillen has also supported legislation to lower prescription drug costs by expanding Medicare drug price negotiations, permanently extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, protect safety-net hospitals, streamline Medicare Advantage prior authorization for seniors, and increase transparency and affordability in dental and vision coverage. She also highlighted Floral Park resident Karen Brandon as her guest at the State of the Union to highlight the impact of rising health care costs on local families.

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