Cancer Survivor to Mike Lawler: Are Children, Seniors, and Families on Medicaid Expendable?
WESTCHESTER, NEW YORK — Karen, a 21-year breast cancer survivor, former pediatric physical therapist, and caregiver for her elderly parents, is demanding answers from Congressman Mike Lawler after he proudly supported the Republican Tax Law that puts up to $128 billion in New York Medicaid funding on the chopping block. As families brace for the fallout, the Trump administration is implementing draconian rules that could push Medicaid patients off their coverage and create new barriers to care.
In a guest editorial published in The Croton Chronicle, Karen describes how Medicaid helped her family through some of life's most difficult moments, from caring for her daughter, who survived 13 months with severe medical complications, to helping provide care for her 88-year-old mother living with Alzheimer's and her 95-year-old father.
"This isn't about politics for me; this is survival," Karen wrote. "Our elected officials should be protecting families who are caring for children, seniors, and loved ones with serious health needs, not making their lives harder to fund more tax breaks for billionaires."
Karen highlighted the impact the cuts could have on medically fragile children. Before retiring because of complications from cancer treatment, she worked as a pediatric physical therapist at Blythedale Children's Hospital, where the overwhelming majority of patients depend on Medicaid.
"Seventy-eight percent of Blythedale's patients are dependent on Medicaid for their complex medical care," Karen continued in her op-ed. "Cuts to Medicaid would be devastating for these medically fragile children and their families."
For constituents like Karen, Lawler’s vote for the Republican Tax Law is not just illogical; it is cruel. 28,000 NY-17 residents are projected to lose their health care due to the Republican Tax Law, and the law threatens the care of the district’s 211,500 Medicaid recipients.
"Congressman Lawler's vote isn't an abstract policy debate to me. I've relied on Medicaid to care for my daughter, and today my family relies on it to care for my elderly parents. I spent my career helping medically fragile children, many of whom depend on Medicaid to survive. So I have to ask: when Congressional Republicans cut healthcare and create new barriers to coverage, do they see children with complex medical needs, cancer survivors, and seniors living with Alzheimer's as expendable? Because those are the people who will pay the price," said Karen.
Karen has appeared in multiple Empire State Voices advertisements demanding accountability from Rep. Mike Lawler and urging him to protect Medicaid for the Hudson Valley families who depend on it.
To learn more about Empire State Voices, contact press@empirestatevoices.org
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About Empire State Voices
Empire State Voices is a multi-year campaign dedicated to amplifying the voices of everyday working New Yorkers. We are 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. To learn more about Empire State Voices, contact press@empirestatevoices.org
