{"id":377,"date":"2026-07-01T19:46:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=377"},"modified":"2026-07-01T19:46:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:46:59","slug":"congressional-democrats-blast-trump-blakeman-over-newly-enacted-essential-plan-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=377","title":{"rendered":"Congressional Democrats blast Trump, Blakeman over newly enacted Essential Plan cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Changes to the Essential Plan in New York under last year\u2019s HR1 officially took effect on Wednesday, meaning that some 450,000 New Yorkers have now lost access to the low- to no-cost federally subsidized health insurance they were on. And congressional Democrats are using the opportunity to take aim not only at President Donald Trump for his spending bill, but Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, who has promised to slash Medicaid spending in New York should he win in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Opinion: Why I voted no on the $126 billion budget<\/a><\/p>\n

In order to avoid the worst outcome for New York Essential Plan enrollees under Trump\u2019s \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d that would have left over 1 million New Yorkers in the lurch, the state received a waiver to return to a Basic Health Program\u00a0 to access billions in a federal trust fund. The waiver enabled continued coverage of the bulk of people using the Essential Plan \u2013 including an immigrant population the state is required to provide health insurance to \u2013 but it came at the expense of 450,000 New Yorkers who benefited from an expansion of the plan two years ago. Those making between 200% and 250% of the federal poverty line got kicked off the subsidized health insurance on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the cuts go into effect, Blakeman is standing firm on his promise to cut Medicaid, which will also see expansive changes in eligibility under HR1 starting next year. Just this week, Blakeman told Fox Business that he would \u201ccut Medicaid in half\u201d to bring it back to a \u201creasonable number,\u201d reiterating previous comments he\u2019s made about decreasing the state\u2019s sky-high Medicaid costs.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s taking heat from congressional Democrats. Rep. Grace Meng of Queens, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, called HR1 \u201chorrendous\u201d for its cuts to both Medicaid and the Essential Plan. \u201cThat Bruce Blakeman wants to increase the suffering is cruel and should disqualify him from any high office,\u201d she said in a statement to City & State. \u201cHis policies would also do major damage to our fragile economy, raising costs across the board and taking away lifesaving care from the people who need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further north in Westchester, Rep. George Latimer said in a statement to City & State that he warned HR1 would be a \u201cdisaster for New Yorkers\u2019 healthcare,\u201d a warning he said is now coming home to roost. \u201cWith so many New Yorkers set to lose care, it is unconscionable that Bruce Blakeman is running for Governor on a promise to cut Medicaid even further by half and strip New Yorkers of the care they need to survive,\u201d Latimer said.<\/p>\n

Read more TWU to Big Labor: don\u2019t endorse Hochul<\/a><\/p>\n

Asked for comment on those criticisms, Blakeman defended his plans to reign in the state\u2019s Medicaid spending, which outpaces every other state in the nation. \u201cI\u2019m running for Governor to protect patients and taxpayers by eliminating the fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid that costs billions of dollars every year and drives up the cost of living in New York,\u201d Blakeman said in a statement to City & State. \u201cBy fixing Hochul\u2019s broken system, we will actually safeguard health coverage for the most vulnerable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While some state lawmakers pushed for greater state action this legislative session to help Essential Plan enrollees who have now lost their coverage, the estimated price tag varied widely. Legislators ultimately left Albany without a solution \u2013 for which state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins blamed the governor.<\/p>\n

The federal government earlier this year launched a probe into New York\u2019s Medicaid program, and just this week said it would suspend funding for the program\u2019s fraud unit over poor performance. State Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri also testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations as part of Congress\u2019 own investigation into blue state Medicaid programs.<\/p>\n

Read more Harlem public defenders threaten strike<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some 450,000 New Yorkers have officially been kicked off their low- to no-cost subsidized state health insurance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,49,3],"tags":[16,52,7],"class_list":["post-377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-albany-agenda","category-healthcare","category-new-york-state","tag-albany-agenda","tag-healthcare","tag-new-york-state"],"yoast_head":"\nCongressional Democrats blast Trump, Blakeman over newly enacted Essential Plan cuts - Business Relocation Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=377\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Congressional Democrats blast Trump, Blakeman over newly enacted Essential Plan cuts - 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