LaLota’s comments on cuts to Medicaid during tele town hall were too vague to be meaningful

To the Editor:

I was struck by a recent comment from House Republican, Ray LaLota (1st district of NY), on his tele-townhall, where he acknowledged Medicaid cuts in the budget proposal — something most in his party seem to avoid verbalizing. LaLota’s exact words:

“I’ll tell you this with respect, I think you asked about Medicaid. We can’t cut Medicaid to the point we’re hurting people. And what unites the House Republican Conference is cutting in three areas. One, getting everybody who is not in this country legally off of the Medicaid roll. Two, requiring work for able-bodied adults, and three, rooting out the waste, fraud, and abuse that is rampant in systems like New York. I don’t want to go further than that.”

He’s acknowledging the cuts to Medicaid, but he isn’t quantifying the cuts, nor where the cuts will come from. He ended his vague answer on the topic with “I don’t want to go further than that.” I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on, that’s an insufficient answer.

As of November 2024, Suffolk County had 369,017 residents enrolled in Medicaid—about 25% of Suffolk county’s estimated 1.5 million residents. That’s a significant portion of the population relying on Medicaid for healthcare, and proposed cuts—potentially as high as $880 million—could have a significant impact on the community.

I find the congressman’s statement troubling, not only because of the policy implications, but also because of the lack of transparency. If Medicaid cuts are in the budget, they should be openly acknowledged and debated, not obscured by rhetoric. The people of Suffolk County deserve honesty about the consequences of these decisions, whatever they may be.

Thomas DelVecchio

Centerport, NY