U.S. Rep Laura Gillen — of New York’s fourth congressional district on the South Shore of Nassau County — gathered local health care leaders, advocates, and residents at the Meadowbrook Care Center in Freeport to discuss how GOP cuts to Medicaid and the ongoing government shutdown are driving up medical costs for Long Island families.
The roundtable brought together 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 costly health care system.
Gillen warned that Republicans’ refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits could cause insurance premiums for more than 140,000 New Yorkers to spike—potentially doubling costs for Nassau County families.
“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.”
Hempstead resident Nicola B. spoke emotionally about how quickly medical expenses can spiral out of control. “A couple of weeks ago, I got an eye infection,” she said.
“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,” she added. “So I went to the emergency room. I was there for maybe five hours, six hours, I think, 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.”
Local health leaders echoed Gillen’s concern that cuts to Medicaid would devastate vulnerable populations and strain care facilities across New York.
“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,” Perry added. “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 roughly 600,000 long term care facilities in New York State,” added Meadowbrook Care Center owner Shimi Pelman. “Eighty percent of every resident in nursing homes is on Medicaid. And if you keep cutting Medicaid, many of these facilities will close. Most of the voluntaries have to close already. You look at some of the voluntaries on Long Island, and they can’t continue operating.”
“If you keep cutting Medicaid, remember, Medicaid is paid 50% by the state, 50% by the federal government,” Pelman said. “If they cut more, New York State doesn't have the wherewithal or bandwidth right now to take over for that, I've had many meetings with Governor Hochul and with the commissioner of health. They don’t know what next year is going to bring.”
As a standoff continues in Washington, Gillen reaffirmed her commitment to fighting for affordable care.
“This is not a difficult choice to make,” the congresswoman said. “And I think that is what we're fighting for right now in Washington to try to bring down those costs.
She is a cosponsor of the Health Care Affordability Act of 2025 (H.R. 247), which would extend ACA premium tax credits and prevent insurance hikes for millions of Americans.
Gillen said she will continue pressing for a bipartisan deal to reopen the government and safeguard access to affordable health care for Long Island families.
