New York Democrats introduced legislation in Congress Thursday to reverse federal funding cuts that resulted in hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers getting kicked off of a popular public insurance program earlier this year.
Gov. Kathy Hochul lowered the income eligibility for the state’s Essential Plan in July after Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump passed legislation that resulted in about $7.5 billion in cuts to the program.
The cuts stemmed from new restrictions barring the use of federal funds to pay for insurance coverage for certain legally present immigrants.
The new bill, introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Chuck Schumer, would undo those restrictions and give the Hochul administration the option to expand eligibility for the Essential Plan once again. It would also allow other states to expand eligibility for similar insurance programs.
The federal ‘‘Restoring Essential Plan Coverage Act,’’ cosponsored by the entire New York Democratic delegation, comes weeks ahead of midterm elections in which rising healthcare and other costs are key issues.
The proposal also aims to put Republican lawmakers on the spot. The healthcare cuts were engineered by Trump and Republican members of Congress as part of Trump’s massive domestic policy and spending bill, approved last year.
“We must take immediate steps to repeal the harmful impacts of H.R. 1 (the domestic policy bill) on New York,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement.
Groups representing New York hospitals and nonprofit clinics also issued statements in support of the bill to restore Essential Plan coverage. They have raised concerns that more uninsured patients will mean less revenue and cuts to healthcare services.
The new bill, which would apply to health plans starting in January 2027, is being introduced just a few weeks before New Yorkers will once again have the opportunity to sign up for the Essential Plan and other insurance options through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace. Open enrollment starts Nov. 1.
The Essential Plan provides premium-free health insurance with minimal copays, providing a lifeline to many New Yorkers who struggle to afford private insurance but don’t qualify for Medicaid.
Prior to the cuts, the plan insured about 1.7 million New Yorkers, with an income limit of about $40,000 for an individual. That threshold was reduced to $32,000 for an individual in July.
The Hochul administration initially estimated that some 450,000 people would lose Essential Plan coverage due to the eligibility restrictions, but some were able to maintain public insurance coverage because of changes in their income, according to a report from the state Department of Health.
As of Aug. 30, about 197,000 of the New Yorkers the state expected to be affected by the changes were able to either remain on the Essential Plan or enroll in Medicaid, which also has no monthly premiums.
Another 59,000 New Yorkers enrolled in private health plans offered through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace. These plans can come with hefty premiums, although some who enrolled qualified for subsidies.
But 177,841 former Essential Plan enrollees did not enroll in another insurance plan through the state marketplace, some of whom may now be uninsured.