Pugsley Park in Peekskill is where advocates of extending government subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums gathered to add their voices to those putting pressure on Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration to prevent millions of Americans from losing health care coverage because they can no longer afford it. It’s estimated that 20 million people will see their health care costs soar while 4 million lose coverage entirely when ACA premiums go up for 2026.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have been demanding that Republicans negotiate continuation of the ACA subsidies before they will vote to end the government shutdown. Open enrollment for ACA coverage, also known as Obamacare, began this past Saturday, and millions of Americans were beginning to learn that their health care costs will double or even triple without renewed federal support.
In New York, more than 118,000 residents on the state ACA marketplace are expected to pay an average of $900 more annually, and 860,000 New Yorkers risk losing their insurance altogether.
“Stripping tens of thousands of New Yorkers of their health care to fund tax cuts for the wealthy isn’t good governance, it’s simply cruel,” said State Sen. Pete Harckham. “Years of progress are being undone in just months, and it’s working families and seniors who will pay the price for Trump’s reckless policies.”
State Assembly Member Dana Levenberg said, “It’s shameful that in a nation as wealthy as ours, working people are begging for help to pay for medical costs. In the absence of a shift to a single-payer system and guaranteed health care, the very least our federal government can do is help people pay for their health insurance premiums, which are spiking beyond control, and certainly people’s ability to pay. Congress must extend the ACA tax credits now and get back to working for the people.”
Dylan Wheeler, NY Congressional District 17 regional organizing director for the group Empire State Voices, told those who had gathered, “Already stretched budgets will be strained to their breaking point, while others will be unable to shoulder the burden and lose their health insurance entirely.”
Angel Gray, representing the Westchester Children’s Association said that the organization joins in the demands that Congress protect ACA subsidies and safeguard the stability and well-being of families who depend on them.
Rashida Tyler of the New York State Council of Churches expressed the viewpoint that health care is a moral issue as well as a policy issue.
“Our faith teaches us that caring for our neighbors is a sacred duty, yet Congress’s inaction threatens to pull the rug out from under working families,” Tyler said. “We cannot let bureaucracy and political games force parents, seniors, and struggling individuals to choose between their health and their financial survival.”
Sparrow Tobin, president of the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation spoke on behalf of the 115,000 union members in the federation in saying, “Health care is a human right, not a bargaining chip. The labor movement in the Hudson Valley will continue to fight for what’s right. On behalf of working people in Columbia, Greene, Sullivan, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, and Rockland Counties, we will not break.”
