Senator Gustavo Rivera Introduces Bill to Address Healthcare Coverage Loss for New Yorkers

 

Today, State Senator Gustavo Rivera (NY-33) introduced a bill (S.9589) that aims to preserve access to health insurance for New Yorkers who will lose eligibility for reduced cost health coverage and publicly subsidized financial assistance for purchasing health insurance coverage due to the implementation of H.R.1 and the loss of health insurance premium tax credits.

As a result of H.R.1 cuts and federal inaction on the premium assistance, New York State is set to lose billions of dollars in funding for its Essential Plan, a low cost health insurance program that serves approximately 1.7 million New Yorkers. This funding was intentionally eliminated by the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans in order to give tax cuts to the wealthiest individuals in our country.

In response to these devastating cuts, Governor Hochul’s administration was forced to seek approval to scale back the expanded 1332 waiver version of the Essential Plan in order to protect the viability of the program. Unfortunately, while providing fiscal stability to the program's continued operation, this action will leave approximately 450,000 New Yorkers facing healthcare coverage loss beginning July 1, 2026.

“The devastating cuts from Washington leave millions of New Yorkers on the brink of losing healthcare coverage, threatening our entire healthcare ecosystem. These are the people who go to work every day and generate billions in economic activity,” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “In the midst of an unprecedented affordability crisis, our federal government chose tax cuts to enrich the wealthiest among us. This bill will protect basic healthcare access and mitigate the harm of these cruel policy choices”

This bill will:

•   Authorize the state to continue to provide Essential Plan coverage to individuals with incomes between 200% and 250% of FPL.

•   Authorize New York State to provide state-only funded Essential Plan coverage to lawfully present individuals who are not eligible to participate in the program due to their immigration status.

•   Authorize the Marketplace to establish and administer a state-only funded premium assistance program for lawfully present immigrants who will be rendered ineligible under HR 1, and cost-sharing reductions to assist with the purchase of health insurance coverage.

With healthcare being one of the single largest drivers of unaffordability in our State, this bill would provide affordable healthcare coverage options to working families including eligible immigrant working families whose hard work continues to contribute to strengthening our State’s economy.