By Hank Russell
Once again, both gubernatorial candidates are sparring over Medicaid as one side said their opponent is looking to cut the program “in half” while the other side argued that the current administration has allowed runaway spending on the program, which has also been rife with fraud and abuse.
According to a report from WPIX-TV, citing New York State Department of Health data, there are currently 6.4 million New Yorkers enrolled in Medicaid as of May 2026.
The New York State Democratic Party claimed that Bruce Blakeman, the Republican Nassau County executive who is running for governor, is seeking to gut Medicaid, citing a couple of interviews he did on this topic.
Appearing on Fox News, Blakeman said the count ycontributes 25% to Medicaid costs “which we have no control over,” and noted that New York State’s Medicaid is greater than that of Texas and Florida combined.
As governor, Blakeman said he would “cut Medicaid in half” so that “it comes back to a reasonable number.”
“We don’t have to charge the counties and the towns [for Medicaid],” Blakeman continued. “We can cut taxes by 25% just doing that. … The most important investment middle-class people have is their homes.”
The NYS Democrats also cited a previous interview Blakeman did with TALK! 100.7 FM in Utica, in which he said he would go in with “a cost-cutting crew” to look at Medicaid spending.
“Is it because the people in New York are sicker than those in Florida or Texas? Absolutely not,” Blakeman said, adding he would go in “with a cost-cutting crew” to “look under a microscope” and “make the program more efficient and more in line with what other states are spending.” He also called the fact that New York spends more than Florida on Medicaid, although New York has fewer residents, “mind-boggling.”
The Hochul campaign blasted Blakeman for proposing such cuts as 450,000 New Yorkers lost access to the state-subsidized Essential Plan. “Instead of protecting healthcare, Blakeman is vowing to ‘of course’ cut Medicaid ‘in half’ and ‘go in with a cost-cutting crew’ to rip away coverage from even more New Yorkers,” the campaign said in a statement.
“Nearly half a million New Yorkers are about to lose their coverage because of Trump’s cruel healthcare cuts, and now his puppet Bruce Blakeman is vowing to take the cuts even further and ‘cut Medicaid in half,’ NYS Democratic Party spokesperson Addison Dick said in a statement. “Blakeman would rip away New Yorkers’ healthcare, jack up their costs, and put his loyalty to Trump over families.”
In response, Blakeman said his plan is about cutting waste and fraud, not the program itself.
“I’m running for governor to protect patients and taxpayers by eliminating the fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid that costs billions of dollars every year and drives up the cost of living in New York.” Blakeman said in a statement. “By fixing Hochul’s broken system, we will actually safeguard health coverage for the most vulnerable.”