ROCHESTER, N.Y. — In a few weeks, more than 450,000 New Yorkers will lose their health insurance plan. Spectrum News 1 has been reporting on the rollbacks to the state’s Essential Plan for months.
Federal cuts have changed the qualifications so that New Yorkers will need an income less than 200% of the poverty guideline. A household of two, for example, making more than $42,300 a year, would lose access to the Essential Plan.
“If you’re in this program, you got a letter from the New York State of Health, and there’s very specific actions you need to take now or have already taken to log in to your account,” Megan Woodward said.
What You Need To Know
July 1st, 450,000 New Yorkers will lose access to the state’s Essential Plan (EP) health insurance coverage
The changes come from federal cuts, and impact EP customers with a household income that is more than 200% above the federal poverty line
Folks that are impacted need to update their informationon the State’s website to keep their household income accurate
The deadline to apply for a new plan is Monday, June 15
She’s the vice president of member experience at Fidelis Care. She says there’s another deadline that New Yorkers who will be losing their coverage need to know. Monday, June 15, is the deadline for people to apply for new health insurance coverage. Woodward says it’s as simple as logging into your New York State of Health account and updating your information.
“The call to action is make sure that, right now, you have current information on your income, definitely on your household size, because that does also influence the calculation is reflected. And, on the New York State of Health website, it’s where that information gets then fed into the determination about what your cost experience might be,” she said.
These updates are important because Woodward says they could impact your access to subsidies. Only essential plan customers who are making more than 200% above the federal poverty line are impacted. Some are losing access to the Essential Plan, while others’ subsidies are changing because of the federal cuts, and because of their current status.
Subsidies work similarly to discounts, but they are provided on a need-basis.
“If your income has gone up, versus when you first started, you may have coverage options down through qualified health plans, which involve, tax subsidies and various choices of different metal levels like bronze, silver and platinum plans on the New York State of Health website,” Woodward explained, “Conversely, if your income has gone down, you may continue to qualify for low or no cost coverage to other options within the essential plan or even through Medicaid managed care.“
Having the most up to date information on your account will make sure you’ll get the appropriate amount of support to afford your health insurance. There are plenty of resources, too. Providers like Fidelis Care, Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield and MVP are there to provide guidance. However, your local insurance broker can be another resource for comparing plans and prices.