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FREEPORT, NY - Today, Congresswoman Laura Gillen (NY-04) hosted a roundtable discussion at Meadowbrook Care Center in Freeport focused on the rising cost of health care and its impact on Long Island seniors and families amid devastating GOP cuts to care:
The discussion brought together key community health leaders, including Meadowbrook Care Center owners Shimi and Jonathan Pelman, AHRC Nassau CEO Stanfort Perry and Hempstead resident Nicola B., who shared her firsthand experience navigating New York's expensive health care system.
"Too many Long Islanders are finding that keeping up with insurance premiums, copays, deductibles and other health costs is squeezing out their ability to pay for other necessities," said Rep. Gillen. "This crisis affects Americans from every walk of life, and addressing it should be a bipartisan priority."
Rep. Gillen also highlighted the importance of extending the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits, which help more than 140,000 New Yorkers afford health care. Nassau County families could see their insurance bills more than double if Republicans refuse to negotiate a bipartisan extension.
"A couple of weeks ago, I got an eye infection," Hempstead resident Nicola B. recounted. "Normally I would have my normal checkup with my doctor, but I chose to go to the emergency room because it was in the middle of the night and I was in excruciating pain, so I went to the emergency room. I was there for maybe five hours, six hours, and when I received the bill, it was $3,000 and because I recently lost my job, I didn't have coverage. I can't afford to get sick. It's a big issue for us."
"One in 33 children born have autism," said AHRC CEO Stanfort Perry. "Those children are growing up through the system of care. We're really concerned and parents are frightened that they won't have the services available and they need them, the clinical support, all of the educational support. The Education Department is being gutted. Special Education is being gutted. So it's really a time for advocacy and education of the entire community around these changes, because as the Congresswoman has shared, we're all affected in one way or another."
"There are 600+ long-term care facilities in New York State," said Meadowbrook Care Center Shimi Pelman. "80% of residents in nursing homes [are on] Medicaid. And if you keep cutting Medicaid, many of these facilities will close."
Rep. Gillen is a cosponsor of the Health Care Affordability Act of 2025 (H.R. 247) and has made lowering health care costs and protecting Medicaid key priorities in Congress. She will continue to advocate for bipartisan solutions that strengthen access to health care and ease the cost-of-living burden on Long Island families.
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