Hudson Valley Residents are Demanding That Rep. Lawler Prioritize Funding Health Care for New Yorkers Over ICE
New Yorkers Gathered in Mount Kisco and West Haverstraw to Demand Action on the Health Care Affordability Crisis and Hold Rep. Lawler Accountable for His Record
MOUNT KISCO & WEST HAVERSTRAW, NEW YORK — Today, ahead of Saturday’s final Open Enrollment deadline, New Yorkers gathered outside Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco and Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw for a pair of rallies shining a light on the worsening health care affordability crisis facing Hudson Valley families and demanding that Congressman Mike Lawler prioritize funding health care for New Yorkers over ICE. Healthcare workers, advocates, and local residents spoke about their personal healthcare experiences and demanded immediate action from their representative, Congressman Mike Lawler, who has voted repeatedly to reduce health care access and raise costs across the Hudson Valley in order to pay for tax breaks for the rich and a near tripling of ICE’s budget.
Last year, Congressman Lawler helped pass the Republican Tax Law, which cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid, the Essential Plan, and other health care spending across New York. In total, these cuts are expected to force around 860,000 New Yorkers off their health insurance, potentially leading dozens of rural hospitals and clinics across the state to reduce services or even close their doors entirely. As if that weren’t enough, Rep. Lawler then decided to drag his feet and refuse to support a three-year extension of expiring health care tax credits until it was too late, forcing thousands of Hudson Valley residents to face skyrocketing health insurance premiums in 2026.
New Yorkers gathered in Mount Kisco for a rally shining a light on the worsening health care affordability crisis facing Hudson Valley families. | CREDIT: Empire State Voices
“A few months ago, my husband and I received a letter letting us know that our insurance premiums would shoot up by over $3,000 this year,” said Lynn Caroll, a mother of two from Yorktown Heights. “My husband has diabetes, so not having insurance just isn’t an option for us. But it’s getting to the point where our premiums now cost as much as our mortgage and property taxes. Congressman Lawler loves to brand himself as a ‘pragmatic problem solver,’ but go ahead and point me to a problem that he’s actually solved. From where I’m standing, all he’s done is make matters worse for my family to fund tax breaks for the rich and ICE’s chaotic rampage across our country. It’s time for Rep. Lawler to put his money where his mouth is: prioritize funding health care for New Yorkers over ICE.”
“Hudson Valley residents are sick and tired of Congressman Lawler’s lies,” said Zachary Tirgan, Regional Organizing Director for Empire State Voices. “He claims to care about lowering health care costs for New Yorkers, then cuts funding for Medicaid and the Essential Plan. He claims that he supports an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, then stands by and does nothing until it’s too late to stop them from expiring. Now he’s writing OpEds in the New York Times, trying to wipe his hands of ICE’s brutality, when just last year he voted to take that money they were cutting from health care and nearly triple ICE’s budget. It’s time for Rep. Lawler to get off cable news and start actually working to help the people he claims to represent.”
Congressman Mike Lawler has voted repeatedly to reduce health care access and raise costs across the Hudson Valley, while nearly tripling ICE’s budget. | CREDIT: Empire State Voices
“Health care is not a luxury. It’s a lifeline. But right now, families in our community are being pushed toward the edge by political decisions made in Washington,” said Dr. Pablo Sadler, a psychiatrist from Bardonia. “I’m hearing from patients who are rationing medications, delaying care, or debating whether they can afford insurance at all. This is happening right now, just days before New York’s open enrollment ends. People are being asked to make impossible choices—pay rent, buy groceries, or keep health coverage—because Congressman Mike Lawler chose to prioritize tax cuts for the rich and funding ICE.”
“Saturday is the end of New York’s open enrollment, and for families who lose coverage or get priced out, there is no backup plan,” said Dr. Gary Kaplan, a retired neurologist from Putnam. “Health care should not depend on your zip code, your job, or how much money you make. We’re demanding that Rep. Lawler and Congress act now to protect Medicaid and make health care more affordable. Our patients deserve better. New Yorkers and all Americans deserve better.”
To learn more about Empire State Voices, please reach out to press@empirestatevoices.org
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About Empire State Voices
Empire State Voices (ESV) is a multi-year campaign dedicated to amplifying the voices of everyday working New Yorkers. ESV is fighting for economic policies that make life more affordable for constituents and holding members of Congress across the state accountable when they fail to do the same.
