To New York State Representatives: 

We are asking you to protect the New York Essential Plan, which provides high-quality, affordable healthcare to 1.6 million New Yorkers, by opposing provisions in the federal reconciliation bill that would slash funding for the plan by $7.6 billion or 57 percent annually, require New York State taxpayers to support an additional $2.7 billion in annual Medicaid costs, and withdraw access to healthcare for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. 

The Essential Plan is a critical source of coverage for immigrants and US citizens alike, offering coverage to those who earn less than 250% of the federal poverty line and are not eligible for employer-sponsored insurance or Medicaid. The plan, which is federally funded, saves enrolled New Yorkers an average of $4,700 per year on healthcare, according to the New York State Department of Health. 

The version of the reconciliation bill passed by the House would threaten this coverage by making millions of lawfully present immigrants – including many green card holders – ineligible for federal healthcare funding, including the Essential Plan. This would threaten healthcare access across the country, but it would be especially disastrous in New York, which is home to 1.8 million non-citizen immigrants. It is important to note that undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for Essential Plan coverage, and all the immigrants impacted by the Essential Plan are lawfully present; these immigrants, including green card holders, refugees, victims of trafficking, those present on student visas and a variety of other groups, would lose access to coverage. New York State officials have analyzed the impact of these proposals, and they are nothing short of catastrophic, costing the state at least $10 billion and over 200,000 jobs, and forcing 250,000 New Yorkers to become uninsured: 

• 750,000 of New York’s 1.6 million Essential Plan enrollees will be disqualified, leading to an annual $7.6 billion loss of federal funding. Federal EP funding will decline by 57%. 

• Among those pushed out of the Essential Plan, 250,000 will become uninsured. These individuals – all of whom are lawfully residing in the US – will not be eligible for ACA Premium Tax Credits and will not be able to afford the nearly $10,000 annual cost of unsubsidized coverage, so they will have no access to health insurance. 

• Because New York is constitutionally obligated to provide health insurance to legal immigrants, an additional 500,000 people will become eligible for state-only Medicaid. Providing this coverage will cost New York taxpayers an additional $2.7 billion. 

• The 850,000 New Yorkers remaining in the Essential Plan will suffer from the massive loss of funding, which may force the state to curtail benefits, increase costs or even eliminate the program. 

• Kicking hundreds of thousands of immigrants off the Essential Plan and the New York ACA exchange will raise costs in those programs. Immigrants are typically younger and healthier than the average enrollee, so eliminating them from the risk pool will drive up costs for everyone. 

• Increasing the uninsurance rate and moving hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers from the Essential Plan to Medicaid will be costly for our state’s healthcare providers. Hospitals receive lower reimbursement rates from Medicaid than from the Essential Plan, and they receive no payment for treating the uninsured; these changes will cost the hospital industry hundreds of millions of dollars.  

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are lawfully present in New York, and who live, work and pay taxes in our communities, would see their coverage threatened. Again, these changes have nothing to do with eliminating coverage for undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for the Essential Plan. The reconciliation bill would eliminate coverage for lawfully present immigrants. 

In short, these changes would be a disaster for New York – withdrawing billions of dollars a year in  federal funding for the state, imposing $2.7 billion annually in increased Medicaid costs, raising healthcare prices for hundreds of thousands of US citizens who access healthcare through New York State of Health, and leading to the closure of safety-net hospitals many New Yorkers from all walks of life rely on. It would also have an enormous economic impact: One recent analysis showed that this and related proposals could cost the state 215,000 jobs. 

That’s why we are calling on New York’s representatives to protect our healthcare system by rejecting changes to eligibility for the Essential Plan, Premium Tax Credits and other ACA funding in the reconciliation bill.  

Signed,

Labor

32BJ

AFSCME New York
Communications Workers of America, District 1
Civil Service Employees Association
District Council 37
New York State AFL-CIO
New York State Nurses Association
New York State United Teachers
Professional Staff Congress/CUNY
United Federation of Teachers

Policy and Advocacy

Alliance for Quality Education
Bronx United Progressives
Caring Majority Rising
Center for Community Alternatives (CCA)
Center for Elder Law & Justice
Citizen Action of New York
Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York
Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF)
Council of Seniors Centers & Services of New City Inc.
Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, Inc.
Fiscal Policy Institute
Greater NYC for Change
Hudson Valley Demands New York Health
Indivisible Brooklyn
League of Women Voters of St. Lawrence County
Literacy Assistance Center
Long Island Network for Change (LINC)
Mount Vernon United Tenants
Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow
New York Immigration Coalition
New York State Alliance for Retired Americans
Nonprofit New York
North American Climate, Conservation and Environment (NACCE)
Northwest Bronx Indivisible
NYC Fair
NYCD16/15-Indivisible
Rise and Resist/Health Care Action Group
Safety Net Project – Urban Justice Center
Saratoga Immigration Coalition
Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy
Show Up LI
Strong Economy For All Coalition
Suffolk Progressives
Tompkins County Progressives
WESPAC Foundation, Inc.

Public Health and Healthcare

Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled
Brooklyn Perinatal Network, Inc.
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center
Campaign for New York Health
CaringKind, The Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving
Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY)
Cerebral Palsy Associations of NYS
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
Medicaid Matters New York
Metro New York Health Care for All
MetroPlus Health
New York State Bleeding Disorders Coalition
Person Centered Care Services
Safety Net Primary Care Association

Social Services and Community Based Organizations

Arab American Family Support Center
Bronx Developmental Disabilities Council
Bronx House
Carroll Gardens Association (CGA)
CASES
Children’s Aid
Chinese Progressive Association
Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC)
Citymeals on Wheels
Civil Aid Services, Inc.
CMP
Counseling In Schools, Inc.
Day One
DRUM – Desis Rising Up & Moving
DSI International
Encore Community Services
Fifth Avenue Committee
Fountain House, Inc.
Girl Vow
Grand Street Settlement
Hamilton-Madison House
HANAC, Inc.
Heights and Hills
Henry Street Settlement
Hetrick-Martin Institute
Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness  and Housing
Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement
JASA
JASA Legal Services for Elder Justice
La Colmena
Lantern Community Services
Make the Road New York
Mekong NYC
Neighbors Together
New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS)
NMIC
Project Guardianship
Queens Community House
Safe Horizon
Samaritan Daytop Village, Inc
Sunnyside Community Services
The Child Center of NY
The Children’s Village and Harlem Dowling
The Legal Aid Society (NYC)
United Chinese Association of Brooklyn
United Sikhs
United Way & 211 New York Inc.
United Way of New York City
University Settlement Society of New York
Volunteers of America-Greater New York
YWCA of Queens