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In “My Dad,” Congressman Lawler talks about losing his father to cancer and the reforms he voted for to keep Medicaid there for the families who depend on it. New limits on federal Medicaid for non-citizens took effect October 1, preventing abuse of the system by those in the country illegally. Does Cait Conley support President Biden’s position on the matter, which covered 90% of expenses for illegal immigrants?

Pearl River, NY — October 9, 2026 —  Lawler for Congress today released “My Dad,” a 30-second ad in which Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) talks about his family’s battle with cancer and his work to protect Medicaid from fraud and abuse so other families have the resources they need in their own health battles.

Lawler opens with images of him and his father. “When my dad was dying of cancer, Social Security kept my parents afloat,” Lawler says. “So I know firsthand how health care costs can bankrupt a family.” That, he says, is why he strengthened Medicaid for the people who need it most and stopped “illegal immigrants and other scam artists from ripping off the system.” He closes on his dad: “I’m Mike Lawler, and I approve this message, and so would my dad.”

Watch “My Dad” here

Federal Medicaid now covers only U.S. citizens and green card holders. Illegal immigrants were still receiving benefits as the federal government, thanks to President Biden’s policies, was still paying 90 percent of the cost of emergency Medicaid in expansion states like New York for people who would have qualified except for their immigration status, the same higher rate it pays for citizens in the expansion population. That federal share is now capped at each state’s regular matching rate, 50 percent in New York. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the change will save taxpayers $28 billion over ten years.

The law also goes after people who game the program from the inside. In July 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported that, in 2024, an average of 1.2 million people per month were potentially enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP in two or more states, and 1.6 million were potentially enrolled in both Medicaid and a subsidized Affordable Care Act plan. Starting January 1, 2027, states must verify enrollees’ addresses against reliable data and check federal death records at least every quarter for enrollees who have died. In 2028, states must begin screening Medicaid providers against the Social Security Death Master File, and a national system to catch anyone enrolled in more than one state must be running by October 2029. CBO estimated the duplicate enrollment provisions will save $17 billion over ten years.

Lawler has gone after Medicaid abuse in Albany, too. In March 2025, he called for federal intervention and a Justice Department investigation into how the state awarded its contract to run the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. In June, the Justice Department sued the state Department of Health and the contractor, Public Partnerships LLC, alleging a sham bid process that let the company collect unauthorized profits funded by federal taxpayers.

“Mike Lawler lost his father to cancer, and he knows what a diagnosis like that does to a family’s finances. Medicaid has to be there for those families, and every dollar paid for someone enrolled in two states, or for someone who has died, is a dollar that never reaches those who need it most,” said Lawler for Congress Campaign Manager Ciro Riccardi. “Cait Conley has spent this campaign attacking the legislation that put these protections in place. Does she want Washington to stop checking whether people are enrolled in Medicaid in two states at once? Does she want taxpayers back on the hook for 90 percent of Medicaid expenses for illegal immigrants?”
 

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