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Glens Falls council adopts resolution opposing proposed federal Medicaid/Medicare cuts after residents urge action
Summary
After two Health Care Coalition members urged the council to oppose proposed federal cuts to Medicaid, the Common Council passed a resolution by voice vote expressing opposition and calling the measures devastating to local health services. Council members discussed whether to send the resolution to federal representatives.
At public comment, Kate Bruce, a Glens Falls resident and member of the Health Care Coalition of the North Country, urged the Common Council to support a resolution reaffirming the city’s commitment to preserving Medicaid services.
“We see 1 in 5 who live here are on Medicaid,” Bruce said, urging the council to show leadership and “support a resolution reaffirming your commitment” to maintain health-care services.
John Sawyer, a local physician and also a member of the Health Care Coalition, presented regional data on Medicaid coverage and warned that federal proposals to cut Medicaid funding could reduce coverage and destabilize local providers. Sawyer said an estimated 55,000 people in the congressional district could lose coverage and that regional Medicaid revenue losses could reach about $2.4 billion over 10 years under some estimates presented to the council.
Later in the meeting, the council considered several voice-vote consent resolutions. The fourth resolution on the consent list was described as, in the council’s words, “a voice vote resolution opposing the actions proposed in the federal level to reduce Medicaid and Medicare benefits.” The mayor called for the voice vote; council members voted “Aye” and the mayor announced, “Motion carries.”
Council members discussed whether the resolution would be sent to federal representatives. One council member recalled previous practice of forwarding such measures to state or federal legislators and suggested mailing it to the city’s congressional delegation; others said the resolution is a public record that could encourage broader community action.
The meeting record shows the council enacted the resolution by voice vote; the transcript does not show a roll-call tally for that specific resolution.
