Healthcare

Ensuring that every person in the Hudson Valley has access to affordable, high-quality healthcare has been one of my top priorities in Congress. I’ve consistently taken on leadership in both parties and fought hard on behalf of Hudson Valley families, seniors, and the most vulnerable.

My focus has always been simple: protecting access to care, lowering costs for working- and middle-class families, and making sure Hudson Valley residents aren’t punished by Washington gridlock.

Whether it’s fighting to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, securing approximately $1 billion for New York’s healthcare system, delivering more than $2 billion in FEMA reimbursements for New York’s COVID-related healthcare costs, protecting access to Medicare and Medicaid for the future, or ensuring long-term funding for the World Trade Center Health Program, I’ve always prioritized delivering real results for the people I represent.

Below you can see the work I’m doing to protect healthcare access and affordability for Hudson Valley families.

Delivering for New York

I worked with the Administration to fix New York’s Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax issue, bringing approximately $1 billion back to New York to stabilize our healthcare system, protect providers, and ensure continued access to care for vulnerable residents who rely on Medicaid.

I personally lobbied Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to keep this critical funding stream in place for New York. My efforts included inviting Administrator Oz to the Hudson Valley for a substantive policy roundtable with healthcare leaders and members of the community.

Another huge win for our state was the release of over $2 billion in long-delayed FEMA Funds for New York. This money had been sitting dormant with the Biden Administration since the early days of COVID-19, leaving hospitals and local governments severely underfunded as they waited years for reimbursements.

These funds were promised to New Yorkers years ago, and I, along with my New York Republican colleagues, pushed FEMA to cut through the red tape and release this long-overdue funding. Our hospitals and our critical care workers stepped up during the darkest days of the pandemic. Local governments stepped up. Taxpayers stepped up. None of them should have been forced to wait years for reimbursement because of Washington's incompetence.

This is what effective oversight looks like. We identified the problem, pressed for answers, and delivered results.

Supporting 9/11 Responders and Survivors

I have also been a strong advocate for the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides critical medical monitoring and treatment for more than 140,000 9/11 responders and survivors suffering from exposure-related illnesses. I cosponsored the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 (H.R. 1410) to update the program’s funding formula and ensure it remains sustainable for the long term.

In January 2026, I joined members of the New York delegation in securing full funding for the World Trade Center Health Program through its lifetime as part of the FY 2026 appropriations package. This delivers the certainty that the heroes of September 11th and their families will continue receiving the care they were promised and deserve.

On Premium Affordability and ACA tax credits

Last year, I helped introduce bipartisan legislation to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits. We worked on a commonsense solution to enact meaningful reforms to the program while ensuring those who rely on enhanced credits could still access them.

After my own party leadership refused to move a bipartisan bill, I signed a discharge petition to force a vote on a clean 3-year extension of the credits.

Healthcare affordability is bigger than politics; it is a governing responsibility. Watch my full remarks from the debate on that discharge petition HERE. While we passed this bill in the House, the Senate never took up the measure.

In an interview with PBS NewsHour, I said that the crux of the issue came down to the need for discussions about reform while also addressing the fact that the ACA still hasn’t delivered on its core promises.

The truth is that healthcare costs in this country are out of control - up over 90% - and both parties must confront the ACA’s shortcomings 15 years after its passage. Premiums are out of control, access challenges remain, and families are struggling to deal with rising costs.

But first and foremost, we must provide stability for families in the short term. During an interview with CNN, I said that addressing expiring subsidies in the immediate term is critical to limiting premium hikes that would hit working- and middle-class families hard, and both parties understand the stakes.

I continue to urge my colleagues in both parties to find a bipartisan compromise on healthcare affordability for all Americans. As I told NPR in November of 2025, these temporary subsidies were created during COVID to support families during a crisis, not as a permanent fix to the cost of healthcare. Moving forward, we need a larger, national conversation about how we actually reduce health care costs in America, while not hurting the quality of care.

Protecting Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security

I strongly oppose any cuts to vital programs that serve our most vulnerable, like Social Security and Medicare. I will also always ensure Medicaid benefits are strengthened and protected for those who rely on them, especially our seniors, women with young children, and individuals with disabilities.

That’s exactly what I told NPR in July of last year. My objective has always been to sustain these programs for the long term for those who need them and are eligible for them. Strengthening Medicaid isn’t just about defending it rhetorically; it’s about making sure New York receives the funding it is owed and ensuring the system remains stable and accessible.

I do support basic work requirements for able-bodied adults without young children. Requiring that a healthy adult without young children work, volunteer, or go to school 20 hours a week to maintain their benefits is reasonable and fair. I also oppose illegal immigrants accessing Medicaid benefits they are not eligible for.

That commitment has also meant speaking up when proposals risk going too far. During negotiations over the House reconciliation package, I warned colleagues against provisions that could jeopardize access to care and made clear that protecting Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations must remain a priority.

This includes stopping Medicaid reimbursements from transitioning to a block grant system or through per capita caps instead of basing funding on actual costs. I was also a leader against lowering the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) floor, the minimum percentage of federal reimbursement. I also pushed back against site-neutral provisions and potential changes to how the federal government reimburses hospitals for uncompensated costs. Even though many of my colleagues in my own party supported these measures, I pushed back hard and ultimately ensured they did not make it into the bill and become law.

A Bipartisan Path Forward

Longer term, we need a serious bipartisan effort to fix what’s broken with the Affordable Care Act. Not repeal-and-replace, but a focus and commitment to making healthcare affordable and workable for the American people. The only way we get there is by Democrats and Republicans working together in good faith to forge a bipartisan solution.

My focus has always been the same: protecting New Yorkers, governing responsibly, and delivering real, bipartisan solutions to the problems facing working and middle-class Hudson Valley families. That means keeping the government open, preventing premium increases, protecting Social Security and Medicare, strengthening Medicaid, and making our healthcare system affordable for everyone.

Some of the legislation I’ve introduced or co-sponsored to make healthcare more affordable can be found below:

Affordability & Access:

Provider & Workforce Expansion:

Reproductive & Maternal Health:

Seniors & Medicare Coverage:

Veterans & Military Health:

Chronic Disease & Prevention:

Mental Health & Youth: