From Pride to Protest: LGBTQIA+ Communities Under Siege by Federal Medicaid Cuts

New York, NY — With Pride Month in full swing and the NYC Pride March just days away, LGBTQIA+ health advocates, elected officials, and allies rallied at the NYC AIDS Memorial in the West Village to denounce a federal proposal that would slash over $1 trillion from Medicaid and ban gender-affirming care under the program.

The rally, organized by Amida Care, New York State’s largest Medicaid Special Needs Health Plan, was co-sponsored by leading LGBTQIA+ and HIV/AIDS service organizations including Housing Works, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, Translatinx Network, Latino Commission on AIDS, NEW Pride Agenda, SAGE, Destination Tomorrow, Ali Forney Center, and Apicha Community Health Center.

Speakers condemned a reconciliation bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, warning that it would jeopardize access to healthcare for millions of Americans—particularly low-income families, people living with HIV, transgender individuals, and people of color.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, as many as 16 million Americans could lose their health coverage by 2034. In New York State alone, the Department of Health estimates that 1.5 million people could be affected, with a projected loss of nearly $13.5 billion annually in federal healthcare funding.

Advocates emphasized that Medicaid is the largest insurer for people living with HIV, covering 40% of nonelderly adults with HIV and accounting for 45% of all federal HIV-related health spending.

“This is not about saving money—it’s about cruelty,” said Doug Wirth, President and CEO of Amida Care. “It’s about targeting LGBTQIA+ people—especially trans people—Black and Brown communities, immigrants, and low-income families. At Amida Care, we see the difference affirming care makes: people survive, they thrive. We should be expanding access, not cutting it.”

State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, a strong supporter of LGBTQIA+ rights, joined the rally and called for urgent legislative action in New York.

“These proposed Medicaid cuts are a direct attack on seniors, people living with HIV/AIDS, the trans community, and struggling families,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve already seen efforts to remove gender-affirming care and LGBTQIA+ resources from national programs. Now, they are targeting basic healthcare. I urge the legislature to pass my bills that will protect and fund gender-affirming care in our state.”

Standing before the granite panels of the AIDS Memorial, speakers invoked the memory of lives lost to inaction and bigotry, linking past struggles to today’s threats.

“Housing Works is a healing community of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS,” said Anthony Feliciano, Vice President of Community Mobilization. “Cutting off care is not financial responsibility—it’s intentional cruelty.”

Jaszi Alejandro, an HIV-positive health advocate with the NEW Pride Agenda, said, “These cuts are just the latest assault on our communities. But we are organized, and we are not backing down.”

The rally closed with a call to action: organize, vote, and demand healthcare—not hate—to guide public policy.