Press Release: Nearly Half a Million New Yorkers At Risk of Losing Health Coverage Are Counting on Governor Hochul

Press Release

Nearly Half a Million New Yorkers At Risk of Losing Health Coverage Are Counting on Governor Hochul

The Community Service Society of New York, Citizen Action of New York and Make the Road NY issued the following statement in support of a joint letter to Governor Hochul signed by 89 state legislators calling for funding to be included in the upcoming state budget to preserve health care for nearly half a million New Yorkers:

In anticipation of devastating federal cuts to public health programs initiated by the enactment of H.R.1, Governor Hochul included $2.4 billion in contingency funds in her FY27 executive budget. By doing so, the governor ensured that the state had the tools to shield low-income, working-class New Yorkers from the harmful consequences of federal policy.

We urge the Governor to make full use of these resources to preserve life-saving health coverage for nearly half a million New Yorkers who are being thrown off the state's Essential Plan and rendered permanently ineligible for coverage as a result of H.R.1.

These are the home health aides, restaurant workers, gig workers delivery drivers, childcare workers and working parents raising young families - people who go to work every day, pay taxes and keep the state running.

In a letter today signed by a majority of state lawmakers in both chambers, the respective chairs of the State Senate and Assembly Health Committees called on the Governor to address the coverage loss crisis created by H.R.1 and not allow callous federal cuts to dictate outcomes that undermine families and communities across the state. Legislation sponsored by State Senator Gustavo Rivera and State Assemblymember Amy Paulin offer a framework for preserving coverage for 444,000 working families and 21,000 lawfully present immigrants at risk of losing health coverage. It would cost the state as little as $393 million in FY27 - well within the resources already included in the Governor's executive budget.

Governor Hochul can reverse the outcomes for nearly half a million New Yorkers who are facing the loss of insurance come July 1. Not only is protecting health coverage for this population a moral imperative, it is also sound fiscal policy: uninsured New Yorkers ultimately cost the state more through uncompensated care, emergency room crowding, higher uninsured rates and lost productivity. Not to mention the needless fear and stress put on families who will have to make impossible choices between seeing a doctor and paying rent.

There is a solution to this crisis. All that's needed is the political will to do it.

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The Community Service Society of New York (CSS) has worked with and for New Yorkers since 1843 to promote economic opportunity and champion an equitable city and state. We power change through a strategic combination of research, services, and advocacy to make New York more livable for people facing economic insecurity. By expanding access to health care, affordable housing, employment opportunities, debt assistance, and more, we make a tangible difference in the lives of millions. Join us at www.cssny.org.

Citizen Action of New York is a grassroots membership organization dedicated to achieving social, racial, economic, and environmental justice by fighting systemic oppression, such as racism and greed. Their mission is to build power for justice, improve lives through community organizing, and push for progressive policy change

Make the Road New York (MRNY) builds the power of Latino and working-class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services. For 17 years, Make the Road New York has fought to ensure respect and dignity for immigrant, poor, and working-class New Yorkers. From our early years working to combine legal services, education, and community organizing in Jackson Heights and Bushwick, we had big dreams about what kind of city and state New York can be. And we had the audacity to believe we could build an organization with the sophistication and muscle to deliver on those dreams.

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