HARRIS, NY — Standing in front of Garnet Health Medical Center in Harris on Thursday, August 14, Senator Chuck Schumer announced a bill that would reverse President Donald Trump's cuts to Medicaid and other social programs. Together with local health care and government officials, Schumer highlighted the harms to the area's healthcare providers from the cuts in federal aid. 

"Our healthcare providers are under attack, and in no place in the state has it been as difficult [as at] Garnet Health Medical Center," said Schumer. 

Schumer said that his bill—called the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act—would reverse the cuts to Medicaid introduced in Trump's Big Beautiful Bill and would extend the tax credits for affordable health insurance. 

"We'll stop these cuts before permanent damage happens," said Schumer. "The fallout has just started here in the Hudson Valley, and it paints a dark picture: longer wait times, higher healthcare costs, reduced medical services, layoffs and even closures, which our rural hospitals are especially vulnerable to."

Schumer asked for residents to contact friends or relatives who live in Republican districts to call their representatives and ask them to support the bill. Sullivan County is part of NY-19, represented by Democrat Josh Riley. 

Harms to healthcare employment

Speakers highlighted the impact the cuts would have not just on the patients who need medical care, but also on the employees who provide that care. 

Schumer said that around 7,000 people in the Hudson Valley were expected to lose their jobs from the Medicaid cuts. Already in June, Garnet Health announced that it had laid off 42 people, due to shrinking federal reimbursements and the anticipated cuts to Medicaid. 

Garnet Health CEO Jonathan Schiller said that the cuts will directly affect the hospital's ability to keep essential services running. 

"When patients can't afford to pay for their care, hospitals have to make up the difference," said Schiller. "I don't want to do that math, because that is also very devastating."

The Center for Discovery (TCFD) CEO Terry Hamlin said that 90% of its patients rely on Medicaid, and 63% of its operating budget comes from Medicaid. TCFD provides healthcare and education to over 1,200 children and adults with special needs. 

"These cuts aren't abstract numbers. They are a direct hit to the lifeline that keeps [people] alive, keeps families together and keeps our rural community strong," she said. 

Sullivan County Manager Josh Potosek said that out of the county's 1000 employees, around 200—one in five—are funded by Medicaid. These include employees at the Sunset Lake Adult Care Center, as well as at the public health agency and mental health clinic. 

Potosek said that the county is concerned that with the cuts to federal aid, the burden of providing services will shift to local taxpayers. 

"We're already wrestling with a potential property tax hike just to cover the increased expense that will be coming our way in 2026, and we've yet to learn what New York State's reaction will be to the impacts of these Federal-level changes," Potosek said.