‘No healthcare on Staten Island without Medicaid’: Advocates decry Trump’s possible cuts (2025)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Jaxenia Weeks said Monday that she’s not sure what her family will do if the federal government cuts Medicaid funding.

Weeks, a 45-year-old Stapleton resident, said cuts to the healthcare program for low-income Americans would mean fewer doctors visits for her kids, limits on her mental health care, and a unsure road for a pair of sisters suffering from lupus and fibromyalgia.

“As a mother, it is very scary to me that my kids could lose their access to the care that they have been relying on since they were born,” Weeks said. “If these cuts go through, my sisters will be in a tremendous amount of pain.”

Weeks is far from the only Staten Islander who could face impacts from possible Medicaid cuts in a borough where more than 128,000 have healthcare related to the program, according to state Department of Health records.

That’s why she joined other advocates and elected officials opposed to possible cuts by the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration.

Sen. Charles Schumer, the Democrat minority leader representing New York in the U.S. Senate, led the morning press conference at the Silver Lake Specialized Care Center on Castleton Avenue, and said the stop was part of a larger tour trying to localize Washington’s budget implications.

“We talk about the big budget issues in Washington, but they affect real people. They affect people who need this help, and cutting it would be devastating,” Schumer said. “We’re here to tell President Trump and Elon Musk hands off Medicaid.”

In addition to the thousands of Staten Island families relying on Medicaid for their healthcare, cuts to the federal program could have severe impacts on local healthcare facilities.

A host of Staten Island’s top health officials — including Brahim Ardolic, head of Staten Island University Hospital; Dan Messina, head of Richmond University Medical Center; and Michael Kraus, administrator for Silver Lake Specialized Care — joined Schumer for the Monday press conference.

Their facilities along with other healthcare providers are some of the biggest employers on Staten Island, and could see their workforces impacted by possible Medicaid cuts.

“There is no healthcare on Staten Island without Medicaid,” Ardolic said. “From cradle to the other end of life, without Medicaid, we don’t have healthcare.”

Particularly, senior care centers, like Silver Lake, rely on Medicaid for most of their funding.

Democrats have long accused Republicans of plans to strip entitlement programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, but members of the GOP have denied those accusations.

The White House issued a “fact check” earlier this month saying that Trump had no plans to touch Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security benefits.

Despite that commitment, House Republicans released a budget blueprint in February calling for up to $2 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years to help pay for reduced taxes.

Entitlements make up the biggest share of the federal budget, but with a budget vote looming in the next few weeks, it isn’t yet clear what exactly would be cut.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican member of Congress representing Staten Island and South Brooklyn, said Republicans’ goal is to actually eliminate waste not make entitlement cuts.

“It is shame that Senator Chuck Schumer and the Democrats continue to spread false information and instill fear among our seniors—a tactic that is both severely misleading and cruel,“ she said. ”Most Americans agree that we must root out wasteful spending and restore fiscal integrity in Washington. Republicans remain committed to doing exactly that — eliminating the rampant waste, fraud, and abuse that has plagued the federal government for decades. Our party believes in real solutions that protect and strengthen benefits for seniors and eligible recipients who rely on vital programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — unlike the Democrats, who have failed to offer any meaningful proposals to address these challenges.”

A March 5 Congressional Budget Office report requested by Democratic Reps. Brendan Boyle, of Pennsylvania, and Frank Pallone, of New Jersey, confirmed cuts to Medicaid would be needed to meet what’s needed for budget cuts.

State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and City Councilmember Kamillah Hanks also spoke out against the possible Medicaid cuts at Monday’s press conference.

“[Medicaid] isn’t just the health insurance program for low income people...it’s an important safety net that helps ensure equitable access to health care, supports providers, and overall, reduces long-term costs for our health care,” Scarcella Spanton, a Democrat representing the North Shore and South Brooklyn, said.

Hanks, a Democrat representing the North Shore, said her mother-in-law was a resident at Silver Lake before her death, and that the experience taught her family about the importance of Medicaid.

“The Medicaid provided her with resources she needed to live in her final years with dignity. She knew and we knew that she was being treated with care. It was a lifeline, she said. ”We cannot afford to forget that behind every funding cut...there is a family holding on with hope. Behind every statistic, there is a senior who deserves safety, comfort and and well being."