BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Health care for thousands of Western New Yorkers hangs in the balance as the federal government shutdown continues. On Monday, local leaders like Democratic Congressman Tim Kennedy warned that proposed cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act could have devastating impacts on people who rely on these programs.
"Congress needs to stop families from being pushed over the health care premium cliff," Kennedy said.
Congressman Kennedy said that preventative care at community facilities will be forced to stop, pushing patients back to emergency rooms.
"Preventative care at community facilities like neighborhood housing services that we stand in front of today are going to be forced off of their health insurance, back into the emergency rooms to get their care, and what happens? Everyone pays for it," Kennedy said. "We're going to see emergency rooms in this country that are going to be now bursting at the seams again."
"Health care is not a privilege, it's a human right," Ellicott District Common Council Member Leah Halton-Pope added.
The Mattina Neighborhood Health Center is bracing for the impact. Iris Rosa depends on the center for care for her family and said the uncertainty is overwhelming.
"I'm trying to figure out what to do to make sure my kids are being taken care of," Rosa said. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm just going to make sure I do what I have to do to make sure my daughter is okay.”
Joanne Haefner, leader of the Mattina Health Center, said they are creating a contingency plan to offer services if these cuts are not stopped.
"We're here. We're going to keep seeing the patients. We're not going to get paid for many more of those visits, and that makes us all worried how we will survive to care," Haefner said.
Haefner said they are looking at the impact of the services that they may need "to shrink."
"We're hoping that we can use our reserves to keep our doors open, and our board is encouraging us to continue to look for ways for us to be able to stay here for the patients that we serve," she said.
Raymond Ganoe of Evergreen Health in Buffalo expressed similar concerns about the potential impact on his center.
"This is a big deal," Ganoe said. "These cuts will be devastating to our organization."
WATCH: Cancel Cuts: Democrats & health providers urge GOP to stop proposed health care cuts
Kennedy placed responsibility for the shutdown on Republican leadership.
"All three houses of government are controlled by Republicans. They own this shutdown, and what they're asking congressional Democrats to do is go along with their continual assault on health care in America, and I refuse to do so," Kennedy said.
However, Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy said it was Democrats who created the Affordable Care Act tax credits as temporary measures.
"I think that we have to find an off-ramp on how to get off of these subsidies that were there as emergency COVID-era spending. I mean, I can't stress that enough. This was created for an emergency," Langworthy said.
Langworthy issued a statement in response to Kennedy's news conference on Monday, saying in part, "The only press conference House Democrats should be holding is imploring Senator Schumer to come to his senses and stop holding the American people hostage."
According to health care advocates, 200,000 people in New York State would lose health care under these proposed cuts.
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