The Impact of Federal Threats to the Health Care System on New Yorkers Statewide and by Congressional District

Several federal proposals circulating in Washington could threaten New York’s health care system and local communities. These cuts to essential health care would harm New Yorkers, hospitals, health care providers, insurance companies, and the State’s economy and budget. Around 8.6 million New Yorkers have and rely on publicly funded health insurance and may be affected by these federal threats.

Across New York, Medicaid provides insurance for almost half of all children and covers nearly half of all births. It is an incredibly important source of financial stability for rural and safety-net hospitals and is the largest payer of behavioral health services. Cuts to this program would force providers to cut back or eliminate services and would take away lifesaving health care for many working people. In response to these federal threats, stakeholders around the State came together to urge the New York Congressional Delegation to ensure that these proposals to reduce Medicaid funding are not included in this year’s budget reconciliation process.

HCFANY breaks down how these federal threats affect New Yorkers statewide and by Congressional District. Click the link below to download a one-pager you can use to reach out to your Member of Congress to ask them to protect access to health care in New York.

Find your district in the list below to see how these threats affect each district and its residents:

Call key members of Congress today and ask them to stop health care cuts to pay for millionaires’ taxes! Republicans only have a slight 3-vote majority in the House of Representatives. These New York members of Congress are critical in preventing these proposed cuts. These Congress members need to hear from New Yorkers why they need to vote to protect our access to health care. click here.

Red AlertYesterday afternoon, the Senate released a tax bill that would eliminate the penalty for not having health insurance established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that repealing the individual mandate would cause 13 million people to lose their health insurance by 2027, including 4 million in the first year alone.

Without the individual mandate, younger, healthier people would lack incentive to purchase health insurance and would exit the individual market. This means that the people that remain in the individual market will be older, in poorer health, and require more expensive care, which will increase premiums. The CBO estimates that premiums would increase by about 10 percent in most years between 2018 and 2027, which could make it more difficult for people to afford health insurance in the future.

Congress could vote on this bill as early as tomorrow. Please call 202.224.3121 and tell your member of Congress to vote no on this bill that could hurt millions of people’s access to health care. You can choose to be connected to your Senator or your Representative.

Information on New York Targets:

  • Representatives Zeldin, King, Donovan, and Stefanik have all said that they will vote “NO.” Please thank them and encourage them to stand strong!
  • Representatives Faso, Tenney, and Katko are leaning toward voting “NO.” Please help push them to a definitive “NO” vote.
  • Representatives Collins and Reed are supporting the bill.

numbersYesterday, the House of Representatives adopted a budget resolution that paves the way for the federal government to approve up to $1.5 trillion in tax cuts to wealthy people and corporations with only Republican votes.

What’s a budget resolution?

A budget resolution is a piece of legislation that outlines the congressional budget. It establishes how much the federal government is allowed to spend and in which categories (for example, transportation) and how much they can increase the federal debt or deficit. The resolution can also include budget reconciliation instructions, which allow the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass budget-related measures with fewer votes and without filibusters from opponents.

The budget resolution just passed includes reconciliation instructions, which means that Republicans, who have majorities in both houses, could pass major tax legislation without the support of their democratic colleagues. Democrats who disagree with the tax legislation would also be very limited in their ability to delay or stop the vote.

How is this related to health care?

Any tax cuts will eventually have to be paid for. The budget resolution that ultimately passed did not specify which programs would be cut in order to pay for the tax legislation, but an earlier version of the budget resolution introduced in the House gives us a pretty good idea of what the cuts might look like. This earlier version of the resolution called for $5.8 trillion over 10 years in cuts to programs that help low- and moderate-income families. This included a devastating $1.8 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and other health care programs, which would hurt millions of children, families, and seniors.

What does this mean for consumers right now?

Nothing yet. The budget resolution is a set of guidelines. It will not be submitted to the President, and it does not have the force of law. However, Congress is planning on releasing formal tax legislation as early as next week, which if passed by both houses, would affect consumers beginning in 2018.

Check back with HCFANY in the coming weeks for updates on the budget and other federal health care policy issues.

PreschoolersFollow up to “The Future of CHIP in New York” posted on September 19, 2017.

Funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), known as Child Health Plus in New York, expired on September 30. Together, Child Health Plus and Medicaid cover more than 2.6 million children in New York State. New York also has universal health insurance for kids thanks in large part to these two vitally important programs. This delay in CHIP funding renewal puts the health of all of these children at risk. Congress must act now to renew CHIP funding before any child in New York or the nation loses their health coverage.

HCFANY’s Children, Youth, and Families Task Force is circulating an organizational sign-on letter to Congress urging them to renew funding for CHIP for at least five years. You can sign your organization on to the letter here. Sign-ons will be accepted until today, Thursday, October 5, at 5PM. 

For more information on why CHIP is so important to New York’s kids, you can view our fact sheet here.