A few weeks ago, more than 70 members of HCFANY, Health Care for America Now-New York (HCAN), and Medicaid Matters New York (MMNY) from across the state gathered in Albany for the first joint New York State Health Advocates Spring Meeting. More than 50 consumers and advocates attended the press conference in front of the State Capitol about the then secret Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act bill. Several State Legislators also attended including: Assembly Member Richard Gottfried and Assembly Member Patricia Fahy. We were honored to have Margarida Jorge, Co-Executive Director of HCAN and the HCAN Education Fund, as a speaker at the press conference and as our keynote speaker. You can view WNYT coverage of the press conference here.

We heard updates from HCFANY, HCAN-New York, MMNY, Coverage 4 All (immigrant health), disability rights groups, and women’s health and LGBTQIA groups to learn more about what they are doing to fight for New York’s health care and how consumers can get involved. You can view slides from the presentation here. The meeting concluded with break out groups to plan ACA and Medicaid defense actions in different regions throughout New York State.