Over 60 Legislators Joined Letter Supporting State’s Effort to Save $400 Million by Extending Health Coverage to Immigrant New Yorkers
On Friday, May 19, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, and Assemblymember Amy Paulin sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccera requesting clarification on the potential use of federal funding to expand health coverage to residents of New York State who are currently ineligible for federal financial participation due to their immigration status. The letter expresses support for New York’s efforts to seek a viable pathway to expand coverage options for all New Yorkers with federal approval. The letter was co-signed by 31 State Senators and 33 State Assembly members.
"I’m encouraged by the support from colleagues for the Hochul administration to pursue approval from our federal partners to offer healthcare coverage to uninsured New Yorkers, especially considering the $400 million in savings this offers our state. If we secure federal funds for Coverage for All in a similar way as Washington and Colorado, we will fortify our efforts to make quality and affordable healthcare accessible to all New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status, while generating significant savings for our State. We must act now and help thousands of immigrant New Yorkers stay healthy with options other than emergency care," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Chair of the Senate Health Committee.
The Executive and the Legislature reached an agreement during budget negotiations for the Hochul administration to reach out to the federal government and clarify how New York State is able to use federal funds to offer healthcare coverage to our State’s population that lacks access due to their immigration status. The legislators’ letter aims to support the Governor’s commitment to expand coverage and further understand how to implement the expansion with approval to use federal funds.
The proposed waiver expansion would cover 240,000 New Yorkers who are currently uninsured because of their immigration status while generating approximately $400 million in savings to our State’s Emergency Medicaid program. Federal approval is projected to inject an additional billion dollars into our healthcare system. Colorado and Washington have already secured federal approval to offer coverage and access to healthcare to this population.
Senator Rivera and Assemblymember Gonzalez-Rojas recently amended their Coverage For All bill (S.2237A) to focus its language on seeking federal support to expand coverage for residents of New York State who are otherwise ineligible for healthcare coverage due to their immigration status. The amended language would initiate the process for New York State to seek approval under the 1332 waiver program to use surplus reserves in the Basic Health Plan Trust Fund.
“The Community Service Society of NY applauds our legislative leaders for seeking immediate clarification that the nearly $3 billion in accumulated 1332 Waiver “passthrough” surplus fund -- as projected by New York’s own submission -- can be used to cover immigrants who are ineligible for health coverage. It’s time for federal and state negotiators to sharpen their pencils and get this deal done—the lives of thousands of immigrant New Yorkers literally depend upon it,” said Elisabeth R. Benjamin, Vice President for Health Initiatives at the Community Service Society of New York.
Read the letter in full here.
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