HCFANY’s 2023 Policy Agenda

Coverage4All and Other Coverage Expansions

Over one million New Yorkers are uninsured, including 254,000 people excluded from existing coverage programs because they are immigrants. 

Medical Debt 

Over 54,000 New Yorkers were sued by hospitals between 2015 and 2020, and nearly 1.2 million have past due medical debt on their credit reports.  

“You’re sick and trying to get better, and you get these phone calls and letters in the mail. It brings back all the stress and pain that you’re already going through.”

– Sherel Wilson, Staten Island

Consumer Assistance 

The end of the public health emergency means eligibility and renewal processes will change for millions of New Yorkers. People will need help managing these changes without disruptions in coverage or care. 

  • Navigators have helped over 300,000 New Yorkers enroll since 2013 without ever receiving a cost-of-living increase. New York should increase Navigator funding from $27.2 million to $38 million to maintain service levels and create a $5 million grant program to fund community-based organizations to conduct outreach in communities with high rates of uninsured people.  
  • The Community Health Advocates (CHA) program provides post-enrollment assistance so that people can use their insurance effectively and has saved New Yorkers millions of dollars. CHA’s funding should be maintained at $5.234 million.  
  • CHAMP provides specialized post-enrollment services for people seeking substance use disorder or mental health treatment. Its funding should be maintained at $3 million.  

 

Hospital Transparency 

All New York hospitals are non-profit charities, and the State and federal governments provide billions of dollars in support to them each year. Hospitals should be accountable to the public and the communities they serve.  

  • The State’s $1.1 billion Indigent Care Pool should be targeted towards those hospitals that serve the most low-income New Yorkers. Adjusting the formula would allow hospitals designated as Enhanced Safety-Net Hospitals receive more support.  
  • Hospital closures disproportionately occur in low-income communities of color.  S3131A/A2251A (2022) would require a public hearing 60 days in advance of a hospital closing.  
  • S444/A176 (2022) would require hospitals to create a community advisory board to increase accountability to the communities they serve.