Delayed GOP health plan concerns LI seniors

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;text-autospace:none;"><span style="color:black"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">As News 12 has reported, last week employees signed a petition urging lawmakers not to make drastic cuts to the program. </span></span></span></p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 27, 2017, 7:37 PM

Updated 2,851 days ago

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Some Long Island seniors told News 12 that the Republican health care plan would threaten their benefits and put their health at risk. 
The Better Care Reconciliation Act, a bill that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wanted a vote on this week, has been delayed until after the July Fourth holiday recess due to a lack of support among fellow Republicans. The bill was hampered by the release of the Congressional Budget Office's report that said 22 million less people would be left uninsured by the year 2026. 
Residents and administrators at the Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Commack say the massive loss of Medicaid coverage under the bill was enough for them to rally against it. They have been urging lawmakers not to make such drastic cuts to a program they say pays for more than half of the services provided to residents at its facility.
"This is a very critical time for us right now. It's never been this critical," says Stuart Almer Gurwin, of the rehab center. "We've always  [been]  faced with cuts. We understand how the system works. But this is really a call to arms that we're all very concerned about."
Rep. Lee Zeldin says he supports the current proposal, saying "Our current health care system is deeply flawed and must be improved...doing nothing is not an option."