On April 1st, 2026, nearly half a million New Yorkers received notices that their Essential Plan coverage would end on July 1st of this year, due to federal health care cuts. We can fight these cuts!

On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed H.R.1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” HR 1 will cause major coverage losses for immigrant New Yorkers unless New York State policymakers act swiftly in the Budget process. The NYSDOH estimates that 1.5 million New Yorkers, citizens and immigrants alike, will become uninsured as the changes under H.R. 1 are implemented over the next several years. 

Take action TODAY:

  • Use this tool to call Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Speaker Heastie. This tool will provide background information and a simple script for you to call these key leaders to protect coverage for half a million New Yorkers in their budget negotiations. MAKE THIS CALL TODAY.

Policy Recommendations:

New York has an opportunity to mitigate the impact of H.R.1 on its residents. The package of proposals, outlined in S9589|A10926, will maintain coverage for half a million New Yorkers who are set to lose coverage under H.R.1 between July 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027, for less than $1 billion per year. 

  • The State has the financial ability to keep this population covered. The Governor set aside $2.4 billion in her Executive Budget to pay for coverage if the federal government denied the request to return to the Basic Health Plan. This proposal only costs the State $393 million a year, and the federal government has already approved the State’s request.

  • These individuals losing their coverage have no other option and will be forced to forgo coverage:
    • This population consists of individuals making between 200 and 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), or $31,000 to $39,000 a year.
    • Individuals losing coverage are working jobs that offer no coverage. Marketplace rules prevent these New Yorkers from enrolling in the Essential Plan if they have job-based coverage.

    • Marketplace coverage on New York State of Health is unreachable for these New Yorkers. At their income level, getting coverage would cost around $3,000 a year with a $2,500 deductible.

To learn more, please see this two-pager, with county-level data on how many New Yorkers will lose by July 1 of this year.

These proposals include:

  • Maintain Essential Plan coverage for 444,000 individuals (404,000 citizens and 40,000 immigrants) with incomes between 200–250% FPL who are currently enrolled and are set to lose coverage in July 2026. 
  • Create a state-funded health insurance program for 6,000 individuals with DACA and PRUCOL status with incomes between 138–200% FPL.
  • Establish a state-funded ACA premium assistance program for 15,000 individuals with incomes between 200–400% FPL who will lose access to federal premium tax credits starting in January 2027.