Mike Lawler, the House member for New York's 17th District, voted on July 3, 2025 for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which changes Medicare for the 3,912,348 New Yorkers enrolled in it in 2024 and that KFF says is the first to take Medicare away from people already eligible for it.
Lawler's deciding May 2025 vote passed a House bill that paused most of two rules that would have made it easier for low-income seniors to get their Medicare premiums paid, a pause the final law runs through September 30, 2034. The final law he voted for on July 3 also lowers the income tax on Social Security benefits, and the Medicare trustees say that lost revenue is the main reason for pulling the fund's projected exhaustion forward a quarter, into the second quarter of 2033.
Mike Lawler's Votes on Medicare Coverage, Premium Help and the Hospital Trust Fund
- Some Medicare Enrollees Lose Coverage for the First Time After Lawler's July 2025 Vote. On July 3, 2025, Mike Lawler joined the 218 members who passed the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act over 214 opponents. Its section 71201 takes Medicare eligibility away from lawfully present immigrants who do not hold green cards, refugees and asylees among them. KFF notes that "This is the first time that Congress has eliminated Medicare coverage" for people who qualified, and the Congressional Budget Office counts "0.1 million Medicare beneficiaries losing their Medicare coverage as of 2034." Under CMS's proposed timeline, people already flagged under the law's grace-period terms lose coverage on February 1, 2027. The law also enlarges the orphan-drug carve-out from Medicare price negotiation, at a cost to Medicare of an additional $8.8 billion by the Congressional Budget Office's estimate.
- Help With Medicare Premiums Was Frozen in the House Bill That Passed by Lawler's Single-Vote Margin, in May 2025. Lawler's yes on May 22, 2025 was one of 215 against 214, with one member voting present, so the House bill needed him to pass. That bill, and later the law, paused most of two rules that simplify enrollment in the Medicaid programs covering Medicare premiums for low-income seniors. KFF cites an earlier Congressional Budget Office finding on the House-passed pause: in 2034 it would leave 1.3 million fewer Medicare beneficiaries also covered by Medicaid.
- Medicare's Hospital Fund Runs Out a Quarter Sooner Under the Tax Changes Lawler Voted For in July 2025. On July 3, 2025, Lawler cast one of the 218 yes votes for the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act, whose tax changes include a lower income tax on Social Security benefits, a revenue stream that helps fund Medicare's hospital insurance. The Medicare trustees now date the hospital trust fund's depletion to the second quarter of 2033, a quarter sooner than they did a year before, chiefly because that tax revenue is "lower than previously projected due to changes in the 2025 budget reconciliation bill," according to KFF.
What the Medicare Changes Mike Lawler Voted For Mean for New York Seniors
- 3.9 million New Yorkers rely on the Medicare program the law changed. New York had 3,912,348 Medicare enrollees in 2024, 1,870,979 of them in traditional Medicare, by KFF's count; all of them draw on a hospital trust fund now projected to run dry in 2033, and on drug prices the bigger orphan-drug carve-out keeps out of negotiation longer.
- 22,800 seniors in Lawler's district count on Medicaid as well as Medicare. Medicaid enrolled 22,800 seniors in New York's 17th District in 2025, KFF's figures show. For low-income older people, Medicaid covers what Medicare leaves to them, starting with the monthly premium, and the paused enrollment rules were written to bring more of them into that help.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mike Lawler on Medicare
What is Mike Lawler's record on Medicare under Trump?
Through his May and July 2025 votes, Mike Lawler voted for a One Big Beautiful Bill Act that ends Medicare for some lawfully present immigrants, freezes most of two rules easing premium help for low-income seniors, and widens a negotiation carve-out that costs Medicare $8.8 billion. The same law's cut to the income tax on benefits reduces revenue for Medicare's hospital trust fund, KFF reports. In New York, 3,912,348 people were on Medicare in 2024.
Who in the Hudson Valley could be dropped from Medicare by the law Mike Lawler voted for?
Mike Lawler's July 3, 2025 vote went to a law under which lawfully present immigrants without green cards, including refugees, asylees, Temporary Protected Status holders, humanitarian parolees and survivors of trafficking or domestic violence, are no longer eligible for Medicare, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy. Under CMS's proposed timeline, preliminary notices to people already identified go out from August through November 2026, and their coverage stops February 1, 2027.
Could Mike Lawler's vote mean higher Medicare costs for cancer drugs used by New York seniors?
Mike Lawler voted for section 71203 of the law, which shields more drugs for rare diseases from Medicare's price talks, and KFF expects it to delay selection of the cancer drugs Keytruda and Opdivo for negotiation "by at least one year." In 2023, "Medicare and beneficiaries spent $5.6 billion on Keytruda and $2.0 billion on Opdivo," KFF reports.
Last updated: 2026-10-27