Community Leaders Urge You to Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap

March 10, 2023

Medicaid Is Our Lifeline. Gov. Hochul and New York State Legislators Must Close the Coverage Gap!

Dear Representative,

As community leaders and people of faith, we are in close, daily contact with our community members. They are working people who are putting children through school and caring for the elderly and sick in their families. They include young people working to help pay their way through college; retirees, and people with disabilities.

We know first-hand what Medicaid means for our communities: it is nothing short of a lifeline. Medicaid pays for the healthcare of people with disabilities, and low- income families including pregnant women and children. During the COVID crisis we all witnessed first-hand how Medicaid protected the critical healthcare needs of so many.

Now more than ever, our hospitals and other healthcare institutions that accept Medicaid to care for our communities are in need of a lifeline. Medicaid now pays only 65% of the cost of the care provided by healthcare institutions. Because of this coverage gap, safety net hospitals struggle to stay open and the low reimbursement rate means that seniors and children have to wait for months to get care. It also means that specialized care and services are not available to Medicaid patients.

Many of our safety net hospitals have closed and many are on a watchlist. The COVID pandemic hit them even harder.

Our communities are also in the midst of a mental health crisis that was accentuated during the past three years of the pandemic. The systemic inequalities in access to mental health care have serious implications for the health and well-being of not just those who need mental health services, but their families, schools, and workplaces. Medicaid requires sufficient funding in order to provide desperately needed mental health services to our communities.

We are calling upon Governor Hochul and our elected representatives in New York State to recognize this crisis and commit to a 10% increase in the Medicaid rate. Only a critical investment of this kind can allow healthcare institutions to function without fear of closure and provide the most vulnerable among us with the healthcare that they need.

We urge New York State to end the sharp inequalities in our healthcare system and make a desperately needed investment in our Medicaid program NOW.

Yessica Amezquita
Erie County Department of Health

Julio Jordan
Ibero American Action League

Stephen L. Gaudioso
Third Presbyterian Church

Patricia Singh
Third Presbyterian Church

Jamal Davis
Coalition for Economic Justice

Mildred Ramirez
Community Activities/ Healthcare

Mary Salazar
Latina Share

Rachel Osorio
Iglesia Cristina Mision Camino de Vida

Pedro Rodriguez
La Jornada

Joseph Williams
Vanderbilt Avenue Moravian Church

Catherine Royall
Church Women United

Jamilah LaSalle
Bait-ul Jamaat House of Community

Dr. Beverly P. Lyons
Grace Episcopal Church

Sister Mary Harvey
Sisters of Mercy

Thelma Mathews
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Vorenter Morris
Living God Ministries Worldwide, Brooklyn

Liz Mathews
Living God Ministries Worldwide, Brooklyn

Cynthia Hurley
Living God Ministries Worldwide, Brooklyn

Damarys Butler
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Everette B Samuel
Greater New York Conference of SDA

María Ramos
Project Hospitality

Antoinnette Donegan
Central Family Life Center

Safiyyah Abdul-Qawiyy
Muslim Sisters of Staten Island

Kassandra Campbell
Jamaica Benevolent Arm and Cultural Center

Raquan Pride-Green
Blueprint 15

Dr. DeCarto Draper Jr.
Tucker Missionary Baptist Church

Pastor John Carter
Abundant Life Church

Erik Rasmussen
Long Island Council of Churches

Claire Deroche, Chair
Public Issues Committee of the Long Island Council of Churches

Vivian Hart
Pronto of Long Island

Rahsmia Zatar
S.T.R.O.N.G. Youth, Inc.

Justin Kokou Adjogan
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Francine Williams
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Gabriela Culmone
La Iglesia Del Dios Viviente

India Slater
Church of the Living God

Emy Howard
Church of the Living God

Stacy Tulloch
Church of the Living God

Michael Pellew
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Pastor Sampson Uchegbu

Hosanna City of Refuge Church

Mark Overall
Buffalo Urban League Young Professionals

Rev. Denise Walden Glenn
VOICE Buffalo

L. Kimberly Slew- Ngarambe
Buffalo Center for Health Equity

Tyrell Ford
Voice Buffalo

Rev Amaury Tanon- Santos
SiCM (Schenectady Community Ministries)

Debbie Abreu
Alzheimer’s Association

Ilian Davila
LatinaShare

Patricia Toxtle
Queens Museum

Maria Morales
Queens Museum

Luis Cesareo
Red de Pueblos Transnacionales

Roxanne Marin, MA, FDC
Centro Civico A Division of the IBERO-American Action League

Rachel Osorio
Iglesia Cristiana Mision Camino de Vida, Inc.

Maritza Terrones
La Jornada

Silvia Ross
Nutrition & Wellness LULAC

Ralph Carter
RochesterACTS

Tedd Pullano
Third Presbyterian Church

Deni Mack
RocACTS Religious Leaderpu

Sonia R Ballen
Latina Share

Zulia Barreto Barreto
Iglesia Cristiana Mision Camino de Vida, Inc.

Keyla Cabrera
Iglesia Cristiana Mision Camino de Vida, Inc.

Ezequiel Aviles
Iglesia Cristiana Mision Camino de Vida, Inc.

Maria T Estrella
SHARE

Sadie Campbell
Jamaica Progressive League

Anita Jones-Williams
The Original Taking it to the Streets /Gods Ministry of Deliverance

Zulqarnain Abdu Shahid
Bait-ul Jamaat House of Community

D. Maddock
Third Presbyterian Church

Sister Judy Fay
Sisters of St. Joseph

Laundale Munroe
Maranatha Seventh-day Adventist Church

Karlene Makonan
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Lisa Shaw
Living God Ministries Worldwide, Brooklyn

Arnita Monk
Living God Ministries Worldwide, Brooklyn

Bruce Kirkland
Church of The Living God

Rev. Cecil Moonsam
69th Precinct Clergy Council

Kendra Jackson
Maranatha Seventh-day Adventist Church

Mendy Mirocznik
COJO

Ana Melendez Ocasio
NAICA

Angel Ibarra
Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta- St. Mary of the Assumption RC Church

Rev. Shaun Wills
Church Alive Community Church

George Kilpatrick
Kilpatrick Media and Marketing

David Pasinski
St. Lucy’s

Rev. Patrick D. Heery
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Auburn

Sister Rosalie Carven, CSJ
Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood

Jack K. King, Pastor
Beach United Methodist Church, Westhampton Beach

Alexandra Sanjuan
Make The Road New York

Carolyn William
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Judy Tillman
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Lenny Plaza
La Iglesia Del Dios Viviente

Robert Gamble
Church of the Living God

Lillian Coleman
Church of the Living God

Geovaira Hernández
Free The People WNY

Ebony Kirkland
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Pastor Phillip T Falayi
Hosanna City of Refuge Church

Tanvier Peart
Partnership for the Public Good

Victoria Ross
WNY Peace Center

Kate Haq
Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization

Max Donatelli
Family Advocate

Rosa M. De La Cruz
Ibero American Action League, Inc.

Ana Vazquez
Schenectady HEART

Mary Salazar
Latina Share

Elia Rubi
Queens Museum

Gianina Enriquez
Queens Museum

Berenice Santiago
Red de Pueblos Trasnacionales

Anselma Rodriguez
Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education

Felicia Carmen Dominguez
Entre Mujeres Hispanas de Queens

Silvia Ross
Nutrition & Wellness LULAC

Sady Wodraska
Caring & Loving Foundation

Marcia Melendez
Agape International Fellowship

Lori Moore
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Regina Edwards
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Jackie Ross
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Jennifer Delpache
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Yolanda Brisbane
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Mcarthur Caesar
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Bryan Adams
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Aprill Abraham
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Harriet Livan
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Joedi Carmichael
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Jasmine Mitchell
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Priscilla Albright
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Ivy Gervais-Jackson
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Dara Abraham
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Xiomara Gordon
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Xiomara Selles
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Winnifred Grant
Women Empowerment Organization

Denise Grant
Little Flock House of Prayer INC

Afzal Ali Ansari
Asian American Labor and community organization

Rafael Ocasio Barreto
ACER-K-T INC

Bishop Dr. Timothy Birkett
Church Alive Community Church

Bertram L. Lawson II
YMCA of Central New York

Bishop Dr. H. Bernard Alex
Ministries of Victory Temple/Ministries Outside The Walls

Rev. Dr. Eric Jackson
Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse

Rabbi Lina Zerbarini
Kehillath Shalom Synagogue

Manuel J Ramos
St. Brigid Roman Catholic Church

Irene Goodman
Society of Friends (Quakers)

Martha Maffei
SEPA Mujer Inc.

Alvin Thomas
Worldwide Assoc. of Small Churches & Chaplains

Dany Culmone
La Iglesia Del Dios Viviente

Adelina Santiago
La Iglesia Del Dios Viviente

Joan Browne
Church of the Living God

Nijaah Howard
Church of the Living God

Julie Marrero
BestSelf Behavioral Health

Rev. Terry Calhoun
Lemuel Haynes Congregational Church

Rev. C. Omarr Evans, Sr.
Community Baptist Church in Bayside, NY

Jennifer Mecozzi
Next Level Consulting

Rabbi Jonathan Freirich
VOICE Buffalo

Dennice Barr
Fruit Belt Advisory Council

The Reverend Peter Cook
New York State Council of Churches

James Worley
Safe Inc.

Osbel Gutierrez Pila
Iglesia Bautista Cristiana de Soundview

Karina Mendieta
Queens Museum

Susana Martinez
Queens Museum

Mery Martinez
Entre Mujeres Hispanas De Queens

Marvin G. Guinac
Iglesia Cristiana Mision Camino de Vida, Inc.

Elizabeth Dominguez De Cuello
Entre Mujeres Hispanas de Queens

Nurys Polanco
Entre Mujeres Hispanas de Queens

Gissette Leonardo
Entre Mujeres Hispanas de Queens

Aracelly Cantos
Make The Road New York

Pedro Rodriguez
La Jornada