{"id":310129,"date":"2026-07-30T20:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/310129\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T20:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:47:08","slug":"what-lawyers-say-people-should-know-a-month-into-federal-healthcare-cuts-that-kicked-450000-new-yorkers-off-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/310129\/","title":{"rendered":"What lawyers say people should know a month into federal healthcare cuts that kicked 450,000 New Yorkers off coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal healthcare cuts and Medicaid<\/a> eligibility changes that went into effect July 1 left nearly half a million New Yorkers without healthcare. One month into that shift stemming from President Trump\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill enacted last year, here\u2019s what healthcare lawyers say people should be looking out for, where they can seek new coverage, how immigrants are disproportionately impacted and who\u2019s at risk of losing their healthcare next.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawyers in New York say they are most concerned about the eligibility change that, on July 1, kicked about 450,000 New Yorkers off what\u2019s called the Essential Plan<\/a>, which provided very low or no-cost federally funded healthcare with $0 premiums and deductibles for those ineligible for Medicaid. About 200,000 of those people have found healthcare since, many through their employer, but the majority of those people are without coverage.<\/p>\n

Those who were kicked off include people making between 200% and 250% of the federal poverty line, or about $32,000 to $39,000\/year ($31,920 as a household of one is now the upper income to be eligible for this plan). Lawyers and healthcare experts, including Elisabeth Benjamin, attorney and vice president of The Community Service Society of New York, say the situation is incredibly troubling and \u201cvery destabilizing\u201d to providers and patients alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very serious situation that we are confronting as a society, as a result of this bill,\u201d said Benjamin during a New York City Bar Association meeting. \u201cWe can expect an increase of about 42,500 deaths annually due to coverage loss. There\u2019s very robust medical research: not having access to health insurance or having access to poor quality health insurance, with more expensive out-of-pocket costs, leads to death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many people who lost coverage on that plan were younger people without stable incomes \u2013 like freelancers \u2013 and those who remain without coverage are primarily those who don\u2019t have access to good, affordable, or any employer-funded healthcare, Legal Aid attorney Lillian Ringel told amNewYork.<\/p>\n

If you have lost coverage, Ringle said, you can see your options to purchase a new plan on the state\u2019s healthcare marketplace<\/a>. But the options are prohibitively expensive for many low-income New Yorkers who were previously on the Essential Plan: Some of the cheapest options are about $200\/month, but some families of four will have to pay $10,000 more a year in healthcare costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people make between $31,000 and $39,000 a year, so to be asked to spend thousands of dollars on health insurance is really not possible for many of these New Yorkers, and it\u2019s a real travesty for these folks,\u201d Benjamin said. \u201cWe run a live answer helpline, and our call volume has doubled and tripled. We are just being inundated by the half million people that lost coverage on July 1st, they\u2019re going to the marketplace and their choices in the marketplace are not good.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, the bill will change who\u2019s eligible<\/a> to purchase much of the subsidized healthcare on that state marketplace. By 2027, only U.S. citizens, green card holders, some Cuban and Haitian immigrants and people from a group of Pacific Island countries known as the Compact of Free Association, which includes the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, will be able to seek healthcare that way.<\/p>\n

In October, federal Medicaid funding will be lost for many categories of lawful immigrants, such as refugees and asylees, Benjamin said, taking away federal assistance to participate in the state\u2019s marketplace.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll other immigrants, refugees, asylees, including people who\u2019ve applied for a green card but haven\u2019t yet gotten it, will no longer be eligible to participate in marketplace coverage,\u201d Benjamin said. \u201cThat will really impact well over 600,000 people in New York State.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are some exceptions, including people under 19 years old, people deemed medically frail, or those who have been incarcerated in the past three months.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A potential solution for immigrants losing access to this care may exist in what\u2019s known as the basic health program.<\/a>\u00a0Benjamin said New York State has an $8 billion stockpile of funds that can be used to provide some healthcare coverage to this group of legal immigrants losing it because the state\u2019s run the program \u201cso efficiently for years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She added that the state\u2019s been doing all it can to maintain coverage for people in light of the federal cuts. Lawyers note it\u2019s worse in other states: New York has put a large amount of funding into filling the gap left by the federal government pulling out, and a Court of Appeals decision requires the state to provide state-funded Medicaid in the absence of federal funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This litany of new eligibility requirements and alterations for the various plans makes it difficult for people to figure out exactly where they fall. Benjamin and Ringel said they encourage people to reach out to help, whether it\u2019s to a state-run program where they can be connected with a healthcare navigator, calling up the state marketplace yourself, or reaching out to a legal advocate, like Legal Aid, to receive personalized guidance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so complex that you have to be a real expert to help people enroll in coverage,\u201d Benjamin said. \u201cI encourage you, if you know anybody who wants health insurance, please send them to an in-person assistor, called a navigator, and they can help you deal with how complex this has become.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ringel\u2019s concerned all of this will make people \u2013 particularly immigrants \u2013 forego medical care. She urges them not to.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are sick, if your family member is sick, it is really important you seek care,\u201d Ringle said. \u201cYour health is really, really important.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd many groups of people are still eligible for health coverage, even if they hear talk that may not be,\u201d Ringle added. \u201cEven if you are undocumented and ineligible for comprehensive Medicaid, you are still eligible for emergency Medicaid and for all sorts of other healthcare access programs throughout New York City and New York State. I just want to reiterate that people need to be accessing healthcare, and there are places where they can do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who will lose coverage next?<\/p>\n

When 2027 rolls around, a workplace eligibility requirement for Medicaid will kick in: Everybody between the ages of 19 and 64 will have to prove they work either 80 hours a month or earn $580 a month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 2 million people who are subjected to this,\u201d said Frederic Riccardi, the president of the Medicare Rights Center, also addressing the New York City Bar Association. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be a huge hit to that group of folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adults will have to prove every six months that they\u2019re meeting these requirements, and children and their families will have to prove this every 12 months. If you can\u2019t prove it, you\u2019ll lose your coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are again exceptions: People under 19 years old or over 65 years old, people deemed medically frail, and people who are pregnant or are less than 12 months postpartum.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

26 states, including New York, are suing over the restriction. The suit remains pending in Massachusetts federal court.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these key Medicare changes that were included set a dangerous precedent because it changed who is eligible for Medicare,\u201d Riccardi said. \u201cIt\u2019s a departure from a longstanding policy that connected Medicare eligibility to individuals who\u2019ve paid sufficient Social Security and Medicare taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Free and low-cost healthcare options\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are other community-based, city and state-run options for healthcare if you lose coverage, Ringle said, and she emphasized that people should seek them out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who lose coverage entirely may need to seek care through programs like New York City Care through NYC Health and Hospitals,\u201d Ringle said. \u201cThat\u2019s a low- or a no-cost healthcare access program.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are also community clinics offering care on a sliding scale across the city, Ringle said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Additionally, if you are anywhere in New York State, hospitals have to offer something called Hospital Financial Assistance for people under 400% of the federal poverty level. But, Ringle said, some hospitals may elect to offer that assistance for people who make more than that limit, regardless of their immigration status.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople shouldn\u2019t be afraid of going to the hospital for fear of not being able to afford their care, because New York has a really robust hospital financial assistance program,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

What to do if you aren\u2019t sure if you\u2019ve lost coverage<\/p>\n

People really need to be hyperaware of their mail, Ringel told amNewYork. She emphasized that that\u2019s where they\u2019ll be receiving notices about eligibility changes and new options.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important for people to be checking their mail and staying up to date,\u201d Ringle said. She emphasized that that\u2019s where people will receive information on whether and how they\u2019ll need to comply with the new work requirements as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additionally, it\u2019s important to respond to those notices and ensure the state is aware of your current income.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important for people who receive notifications or who have received notification about their coverage to respond and to ensure that all of their information, their income, their other eligibility information, their addresses, etc. are up to date with New York State,\u201d Ringle said. \u201cIf someone got a notice about losing Essential Plan coverage, if they have had a decrease in their income that makes them eligible for Medicaid or the Essential Plan, then they want to make sure that they are letting the state know about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond that, she advised people to simply call up the state marketplace or a legal advocate, such as Legal Aid, to receive guidance.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think that your Medicaid or other coverage has been cut off without notice, maybe you\u2019ve gone to the doctor and the doctor is telling you you don\u2019t have coverage,or your coverage isn\u2019t active right now, I would recommend that you call the New York State of Health,\u201d Ringle said. \u201cThat phone number is 855-355-5777.\u201d<\/p>\n

Impact on state finances and hospital systems<\/p>\n

Benjamin and Ringel said the depletion of federally funded healthcare will likely result in hospitals not being able to pay their bills because they will lose out on expected revenue, leading to hospital closures, tens of thousands of healthcare providers being laid off and higher care costs across the board.<\/p>\n

The full slate of changes will mean the state\u2019s healthcare system loses out on about $13 billion annually, Benjamin said, and deliver about $8 billion in losses to hospital care providers and $300 million for health center providers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to see hospitals close over the next decade, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Benjamin told the attorneys gathered for the bar association\u2019s talk. \u201cThey\u2019re projecting 34,000 hospital job losses and 29,000 other healthcare-related job losses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas Quatroche, president of the Healthcare Association of New York State, said he\u2019s hearing from hospitals that they\u2019re struggling with the financial burden of being pushed to provide uncompensated care that would previously have been federally funded through a person\u2019s Essential Plan. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAccess to services continues to be a problem due to low reimbursement, and it is the moral and legal obligation of our hospitals across New York State to see everybody that comes to them in the emergency room,\u201d Quatroche said. \u201cThe emergency rooms have been very, very busy. Some have been overwhelmed with patients, and that\u2019s because of the lack of access in our community and the lack of reimbursement for services, especially primary care and preventive services in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said hospitals are particularly concerned about having to soon grapple with more people losing health insurance when the work requirements kick in.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hospitals are very concerned because any loss of coverage creates a lack of access,\u201d Quatroche said. \u201cWe obviously have more concerns about coverage coming into next year with the new work requirements, which people may present themselves to the emergency departments across the state without coverage, and that creates more uncompensated care, which creates more financial burden for our hospitals across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because hospitals are typically seen as a safety net people turn to in emergencies \u2013 which are happening more because people aren\u2019t accessing preventative care due to the eligibility cuts \u2013 and they must provide care to all who walk in, the less health insurance that people have means the less chance for those providers to be paid.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot being able to be reimbursed for services that are provided creates financial strain,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen hospitals close programs. We\u2019ve seen hospitals both statewide and nationally have to lay off individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Federal healthcare cuts and Medicaid eligibility changes that went into effect July 1 left nearly half a million…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2953,4429,2710,9340,9,56,63,85593,65,64,62643,1069],"class_list":["post-310129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-law","tag-lawyers","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-bar-association","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-one-big-beautiful-bill","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}