Medicaid: Claiming 'Not a Single Person' Will Lose Coverage While Voting for $911 Billion in Cuts

Why this matters in a rural district

In NY-23, Medicaid isn’t a distant government program — it is the reason Cuba Memorial Hospital in Allegany County still has its doors open, why elderly residents in Schuyler County can afford nursing care, and how 36% of Chemung County accesses healthcare. When a representative says “not a single person” will lose coverage, the 10 million people CBO projects will lose insurance need to know whether that includes them.

Statement

Source: Press Statement, May 15, 2025; FingerLakes1.com Column Reported by: BTPM, FingerLakes1.com, WSKG

“Not a single person” among seniors, the disabled, or pregnant women would lose coverage under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Langworthy wrote: “For months, Democrat leaders in Washington and across the country have been pushing a false narrative: that Republicans are slashing Medicaid and targeting vulnerable Americans. It’s a lie.”

He stated the bill would “remove dead people, illegal immigrants, and able-bodied adults who refuse to work from the Medicaid rolls” while insisting “Medicaid was never meant to be a blank check.”

A. What the CBO Actually Found

The Congressional Budget Office is nonpartisan. Its job is to project what legislation actually does. Here is what it projects for H.R. 1.

Coverage Losses

July 2025 — Congressional Budget Office Score:

Langworthy’s claim exempts seniors, disabled, and pregnant women from new work requirements. That is technically true. But work requirements are not the only mechanism in the bill:

1. Dually eligible population: 1.3 million people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid — primarily seniors and people with disabilities — are projected to lose their Medicaid coverage through eligibility verification changes, not work requirements
2. Medicare Savings Programs: 1.4 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries (over 10% of enrolled population) will lose MSP coverage, increasing out-of-pocket costs by at least $185/month
3. Provider funding: Cuts to hospital and provider reimbursements will reduce access even for those who remain technically eligible

In plain language: The bill exempts seniors from work requirements — but not from the eligibility changes, verification procedures, and provider cuts that actually cause most of the coverage losses. Being exempt from one mechanism doesn’t protect you from the others.

B. What It Means for NY-23 Hospitals

When Medicaid pays less, hospitals that depend on it either cut services, cut staff, or close. In rural counties, there’s often only one hospital.

District Hospital Vulnerability

The Arc of the United States: “It is nearly impossible to carve out a specific population, such as disabled people or elderly people, because the cuts to Medicaid funding will affect everyone due to hospital closures and health care workforce layoffs.”

NY-23 hospitals most dependent on Medicaid revenue:

When a hospital gets 42% of its revenue from Medicaid and the federal government cuts Medicaid by $911 billion, the math is straightforward — even for people who never use Medicaid themselves.

In plain language: If Cuba Memorial closes because Medicaid reimbursements drop, every resident of Allegany County loses their nearest hospital — including those on private insurance, Medicare, and no insurance at all. Medicaid cuts don’t only affect Medicaid patients.

C. The “Not a Single Person” Claim

Independent analyses contradict this claim directly.

What Independent Analysts Found

In plain language: Every independent analysis — from CBO to KFF to PolitiFact — contradicts the claim that no one will lose coverage. The question is not whether people will lose Medicaid. The question is how many.

Assessment

Langworthy’s claim that “not a single person” among protected categories will lose coverage relies on the work requirement exemption. But work requirements are one mechanism among several. The CBO projects 1.3 million dually eligible people — primarily seniors and disabled individuals — will lose Medicaid through other provisions in the same bill.

Verdict: FALSE — CBO projects 10 million will lose health insurance, including 1.3 million in the specific populations Langworthy claims are protected.

For a shorter summary of what Medicaid changes mean across NY-23, see: What Medicaid Cuts Mean for NY-23 Healthcare

Sources

• BTPM (Buffalo Toronto Public Media): “Growing number of politicians, organizations speak out on proposed cuts” (May 15, 2025)
• FingerLakes1.com: “Langworthy defends GOP Medicaid bill” (May 15, 2025)
• Congressional Budget Office: OBBBA Coverage Estimates (July 2025)
• KFF: “Allocating CBO’s Estimates of Federal Medicaid Spending Reductions” (2025)
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “By the Numbers” analysis (2025)
• American Medical Association: OBBBA Summary (December 2025)
• The Arc of the United States: Statement on OBBB (2025)
• Fiscal Policy Institute: NY hospital Medicaid dependency data (June 2025)
• Related: Rural Hospitals: ‘Pure Fiction’
• Related: Rural Hospitals: Praising Temporary Fix

Note: This entry documents publicly available information from official congressional records, CBO reports, and news reports. Readers may draw their own conclusions.

Last updated: February 9, 2026