Karen, Yorktown

When healthcare policy becomes personal
By Karen Rubinson

My name is Karen Rubinson, I am a native New Yorker, a 30-year Yorktown resident, and a 21-year breast cancer survivor. While I have never written to the newspaper about politics before, the current threat to healthcare has made it personal.

I was diagnosed in my 30s during my last trimester of pregnancy, and overnight my life changed. My daughter was born ill and survived for 13 months only because a Medicaid waiver allowed us to provide her with 12 hours of daily nursing care at home. Today, I rely on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to manage chronic lymphedema caused by my life-saving treatments. Unfortunately, my treatments have kept me from returning to work as a pediatric physical therapist—a role I’ve dedicated my career to, from my early days at Blythedale Children’s Hospital to providing home-based care at the time of my diagnosis. My family relies on the ACA to keep me healthy. Furthermore, my parents, ages 88 and 95, depend on Medicaid to stay in their home; even minor cuts would force them into more expensive institutional care.

Despite these realities, Rep. Mike Lawler consistently votes against the needs of District 17. By following a national party agenda rather than prioritizing affordable healthcare, he is breaking his promise to the families he represents. Healthcare cuts aren’t just policy points on a page—they are catastrophic for families like mine living on a single salary while facing an affordable housing crisis.

New Yorkers are sending a clear message through polls and protests: we are not happy. Rep. Lawler, it is time to listen to your constituents, not billionaires. Do better, or we will vote for someone who will.

—Karen, Yorktown Heights