Laura Gillen Sounds Alarm as GOP Medicaid Cuts Threaten Addiction Recovery Services on Long Island

Last week, Gillen visited Thrive Recovery Center in Westbury to hear firsthand how these cuts will impact Long Islanders from counselors, clients, and staff – who warned that any barrier to recovery treatment could cost lives for those struggling with substance abuse.

With 1.5 million New Yorkers expected to lose health insurance, Gillen is fighting to “make sure that people know about the really devastating impact the Big Not So Beautiful Bill is going to have on our community, not just those in need, but all across our community — the threat to health insurance.”

Read more on the Congresswoman’s efforts:

• A program that began in 2017 in response to Long Island’s opioid crisis is among several serving the needy that will feel the impact of planned Medicaid cuts, officials said Monday.
• Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) stood with Jeffrey L. Reynolds, president and CEO of Family & Children’s Association, or FCA, a Garden City-based nonprofit that provides an array of services to children, adults and seniors, at FCA’s Thrive Recovery Center in Westbury, warning of the potential negative impact of the budget bill, which Trump touted as the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
• “We want to make sure that people know about the really devastating impact the Big Not So Beautiful Bill is going to have on our community, not just those in need, but all across our community — the threat to health insurance,” Gillen said during the news conference.
• She said 1.5 million New Yorkers face the loss of their health insurance, a figure cited by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration and advocates in recent months, Newsday has reported.
• Gillen cited cuts nonprofits are facing in the “revenue stream that helps them help the neediest among our community, whether it’s people suffering from substance abuse disorder, whether it’s people suffering from food insecurity, or the special needs community.”

• On Long Island, a nonprofit focused on fighting substance abuse is voicing concerns that federal Medicaid cuts could impact the ground that they have made when it comes to reducing overdose deaths. And they say their clients are worried about losing coverage, and they’ve even had to abandon plans for a new facility.
• The CEO of the Long Island Family and Children’s Association fears the reforms will cut off Medicaid payments to clients in need of treatment.
• We are going to see devastating impacts on our community because of the cuts in this Big, Ugly Bill.
• Long Island Congresswoman Gillen voted against the Medicaid reforms. Today, she met with Long Island nonprofit officials, part of a democratic effort to quote, “sound the alarm about Medicaid future.”
• But the future is so unclear, the Family and Children’s Association actually scrapped a $7 million plan to turn this vacant building into a new substance abuse and mental health clinic.

• As New York faces significant impacts due to federal Medicaid cuts, supporters say the cuts will reduce fraud and abuse, while others worry about impacts to the vulnerable.
• “But as the changes started happening in Washington, D.C., we’re nervous,” said Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds of the Family and Children’s Association. 
• Reynolds said he was about to expand the Family and Children’s Association and open a $7 million mental health, substance abuse and primary care facility in Westbury, New York.
• After Congress passed what the Trump administration dubbed the Big Beautiful Bill Act in July, cuts to Medicaid are looming. 
• “So we canceled the project, a really painful decision,” Reynolds said.
• “We are going to see devastating impacts on our community because of the cuts in this big, ugly bill,” Rep. Laura Gillen said.
• Gillen and Reynolds were invited to Thrive Center in Westbury to hear first hand from counselors and clients.

• “We really wanted to make sure that people know about the really devastating impact, the big, not beautiful bill, is going to have on our community, not just those in need, but all across our community, the threat to health insurance,” said Gillen, who also met with staff and clients. “So many people, 1.5 million New Yorkers, are going to lose their health insurance.”
• THRIVE Nassau, started in 2019 by Family and Children’s Association provides a safe and supportive environment for their patients’ recovery paths from addictions such as alcohol, drugs and gambling. THRIVE  provides interactive educational programs, peer-based support and more. Concerns rise as programs similar to THRIVE are now at risk of losing their funding.
• At a time where THRIVE and other similar programs began to see hope for the future, Reynolds said it was taken away by political changes in the country’s capital.
• Gillen said she is currently fighting to ensure that Long Islanders who need Medicaid can retain their coverage.

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