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Federal Medicaid cuts threaten NY economy
Families USA also says the loss of government entitlement programs will hurt the state's most vulnerable populations.
The Innovation Trail's Emma Jacobs reports.
Lara Kessel of New York-based Medicaid Matters said that with the cuts to Medicaid on the table, New York State could lose billions of dollars.
"For the federal government to suck that much money out of the state economy, really would have not only the human impact that we know about as representatives for consumers in the medicaid program, but would have a significant impact on the state economy," Kessel said.
Kessel said according to the Families USA report, that hit could translate into thousands of job losses for the state, and not just in health care.
Father Jim Matthews is with St. Lucy's Catholic Church in Syracuse's Westside, an area with high poverty rates. He said he would see a serious impact on the ground with cuts to entitlements.
"You know there are a lot of vulnerable people, elderly people, people who are homebound, that are dependent upon these government programs and to lose them would be a disaster," Matthews said.
Numerous reports have said that cuts to costly federal entitlement programs will need to be a part of balancing the federal budget. The President is in budget talks with Republicans in Washington to iron out a plan for cuts.
