SCHUMER BRINGS HUDSON VALLEY’S JESSICA MARTINEZ, A CANCER SURVIVOR WHO NEEDS MEDICAID TO LIVE, AS GUEST TO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S JOINT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS; SENATOR SAYS NY & HUDSON VALLEY WILL BE FRONTLINES OF FIGHT TO STOP TRUMP’S SEVERE MEDICAID CUTS THREATENING HEALTHCARE FOR MILLIONS ACROSS AMERICA
Jessica Martinez From Peekskill, NY Is A Cancer Survivor With Multiple Sclerosis Who Needs Medicaid To Live & Care For Her Children, And If These Cuts Were To Go Through, She Fears Health Care For Families Like Hers Would Be First On The Chopping Block
Just Last Week House Republicans Passed The First Step For The Biggest Cut To Healthcare And Medicaid In History - $880 BILLION - Which Could Hurt Millions of New Yorkers Including 240,000+ in Rockland & Westchester Counties
Schumer: Hudson Valley Families Would Be Among Hardest Hit With Trump’s Cruel And Severe Medicaid Cuts
After House Republicans passed a plan for the biggest federal funding slash for Medicaid in history just last week, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer today announced he will bring Jessica Martinez, Peekskill cancer survivor with multiple sclerosis who relies on Medicaid to live, as his personal guest to attend President Trump Joint Session of Congress.
“Over 240,000 families in Rockland and Westchester Counties rely on Medicaid. If President Trump and congressional Republicans continue their cruel plan for the largest healthcare cut in history, it will be Hudson Valley families who suffer the consequences. Jessica Martinez and her family need Medicaid to live, and they don’t deserve to have their healthcare put on the chopping block to pay for Trump’s tax cuts for billionaires,” said Senator Schumer. “I’m proud to welcome Jessica as my guest to President Trump’s Joint Session of Congress. Jessica is a cancer survivor, and continues to live with multiple sclerosis, and without Medicaid she wouldn’t be able to afford her medications. There are 7 million across the Empire State like Jessica, and New Yorkers aren’t going to take these Medicaid cuts lying down. The mere suggestion that we should cut over $800 billion from this lifesaving program to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and giant corporations is an outrage. That’s why I will be fighting alongside Jessica and thousands of other Hudson Valley families to reject this plan to cruelly cut healthcare to bankroll tax cuts for billionaires.”
“Medicaid has allowed me to remain as healthy as I can for as long as I can after an illness that left me hospitalized. Medicaid has made it possible to care for my children and their own medical needs. It’s a lifeline to me and my family. Without Medicaid, I shudder in wondering how I can care for myself and my deteriorating health moving forward and who will care for my children when I can no longer do so. We know what the consequences would be for our communities if the Republican agenda is passed,” said Jessica Martinez. “I am grateful to Senator Schumer for the honor of being his guest to the joint session of Congress and look forward to traveling to DC to share firsthand how people like myself and others will be hurt if Republicans move forward with their plan to cut federal funding for Medicaid.”
Jessica Martinez is a lifelong Hudson Valley native. As a mother of four children, two of whom have special needs, she’s been deeply involved in the fight for fairness as an advocate in Peekskill. After being hospitalized with multiple sclerosis, Jessica has been on a long-term recovery plan for the past decade. Medicaid has made it possible for Jessica to be healthy today and to care for her children and their medical needs. Jessica needs Medicaid to live and is worried that Republican healthcare cuts will mean she can no longer care for herself or her children.
Last week, House Republicans voted for the largest cuts to Medicaid in history to pay for President Trump’s tax cuts for billionaires. Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the nation and supports Americans with disabilities, children, seniors, veterans, and people in communities across the country, both urban and rural.
Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, providing health care coverage to more than 70 million Americans – including over 7 million in New York. Schumer said any cuts to Medicaid of this magnitude at over $880 billion could impact care for households across in America. There are an estimated 678,375 in the Hudson Valley on Medicaid, including 242,302 in Rockland and Westchester Counties.
Medicaid covers 1 in 5 people living in the United States, including nearly half of all children. Major cuts to the program would mean ripping away health care from millions of families who count on it— not only jeopardizing healthcare for them, but the financial stability of hospitals, nursing homes, and community health centers that rely on this funding to continue to provide patients the care they need. Medicaid cuts on the scale House Republicans are proposing would precipitate a crisis for hospitals and nursing homes across the Hudson Valley’s healthcare system, impacting care for all.
“Hudson Valley and Westchester residents are waking up to the outrageous impacts of these cuts. I stand with brave citizens like Jessica and the thousands organizing and rallying to preserve life-saving healthcare,” added Schumer.
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