By Jeffrey Freedman
Article appeared in The Buffalo News on July 16, 2025
The changes that occur when the federal government cuts support for Medicaid in December 2026 will be far-reaching and painful for a significant number of Americans, not just those on Medicaid.
States depend on Medicaid funding to provide health care services for residents whose employers do not provide health insurance, or who cannot afford insurance coverage. In 2024, New York State received $57.1 billion to fund Medicaid. While we don’t know what the shortfall will be when the cuts take effect, according to a statement on Gov. Hochul’s website, the impact will be far-reaching and devastating.
It will result in uncompensated health care expenses ; poorer quality of care in nursing homes and other health facilities; and loss of jobs for health care professionals.
Kenneth E. Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, predicts hospitals will lose $8 billion in revenue, and 34,000 jobs. Yale University and University of Pennsylvania scientists predict 51,000 additional preventable deaths will occur each year, making the bill a top-10 cause of death.
City and county Medicaid programs serving mothers and children, addicts, and those with mental health issues, will not be able to meet demand. Charity and free clinics will take up some overload, but a significant portion of their funding also comes from Medicaid.
Ultimately, the sick will go untreated, will try to stretch medications because they cannot afford refills, and will succumb to simple, preventable and treatable diseases like hypertension, diabetes or infections.
The work requirements implemented by the bill will also create a new bureaucracy, with eligibility and reporting obligations costing the state $564 million a year.
And then there’s the trickle-down effect. Since local governments receive and disburse Medicaid funds, the BBB effectively passes the buck to municipal, county and state officials who will make hard choices to balance budgets. The only options are higher taxes and cuts to vital services such as policing, sanitation and housing.
The Big Beautiful Bill will not look beautiful to someone suffering and dying from chronic illness or to our local and state officials. It is a public policy failure with dire human consequences.