HCFANY is grateful to have had the opportunity to testify at the 2024 Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Health. Our detailed written comments are linked here. The Executive Budget includes many positive proposals that will help protect consumers from medical debt and enhance their ability to access affordable health coverage, including:

• Modernizing the State’s Hospital Financial Assistance Law
• Eliminating all cost-sharing for insulin for New York State-regulated plans
• Guaranteeing continuous health coverage for children up to 6 years of age
• Improving subsidies and benefits for public health coverage
• Informed consent for payment reform
• Banning hospitals from suing patients with incomes below 400% of the federal poverty level

In addition to addressing these important reforms in the FY25 Budget, HCFANY also urges the Legislature to provide additional funding to ensure more New Yorkers can enroll in, and use their coverage, including:

• Expanding Hospital Financial Assistance to 600% of the federal poverty level and incorporating time-limited debt repayment plans as would occur if the Ounce of Prevention Act (S1366B/A6027A) were enacted
• Prohibiting state-operated hospitals from suing patients for medical debt by adopting the provisions of the Stop Suny Suing Bill (A8170/S7778)
• Ensuring coverage for low-income immigrants with Section 1332 Waiver surplus pass-through funding
• Funding Community Health Advocates at $5.5 million
• Enhancing outreach funding for Navigators

While we haven’t seen all the fine print, HCFANY is delighted to report that this year’s budget deal includes important protections for New York’s health insurance consumers.  The new budget deal includes:

• Co-premium assistance for people between 138-150% of poverty (people with children that are currently eligible for Family Health Plus ).  Those who enroll in the Exchange with Silver-level plans will pay no premiums.  This measure is NOT conditional on federal financial participation.
• Protection for people who currently have out-of-network coverage in the individual market.  These consumers will have the option to pay for a Platinum-level plan on the Exchange with an out-of-network rider and be “risk pooled” with the rest of the State’s individual market.
• A requirement for SDOH to create a workgroup to study whether New York should adopt a Basic Health Plan
• Fair consumer protections on the State’s new Navigator program
• Funding for consumer assistance for New York’s health insurance consumers through Community Health Advocates
• Still waiting details on Medicaid budget, but it looks like most optional benefits have been saved….

A special thanks to everyone who added their names to our sign-on letter, called the Governor’s office, and worked hard to get these important consumer protections. These budget victories would not be possible without you!!!

Stay tuned for more on the budget!

 

 

The Assembly got it right in their one house budget bill by including a “premium wrap” for those people eligible for Family Health Plus to make a seamless transition into the new Health Insurance Exchange.  The Assembly is also “authorizing” the Basic Health Plan – but we hear the Governor’s office isn’t going for EITHER in final budget negotiations.

We all must make calls TODAY! 

First, urge the Governor and Department of Health to accept the Assembly’s changes to the phase out of Family Health Plus and help all those eligible pay for premiums on the new health insurance exchange come 2014.  The Governor’s Executive budget got us started by helping those currently enrolled in Family Health Plus be able to make a seamless transition to the Exchange in 2014 – but left out all those at the same income levels who aren’t currently enrolled.  They’ll need to enroll come 2014 and they should get the same deal! The Assembly budget got it right.

Tell the Governor & The Department of Health: Provide a “premium wrap” for the entire Family Health Plus eligible popultion, not just those currently enrolled. 

The Governor’s office also does not want to move forward to even authorize the state to look into implementing a Basic Heath Plan to receive additional federal funding to help provide quality, affordable coverage for families and individuals who make less than 200% of poverty a year (that’s around $22,000 a year for an individual and $47,000 for a family of four).  Why would we wait to create a program the Affordable Care Act sets up as a great way to help those who need it most!?! There is NO reason to wait.

Tell the Governor & the Department of Health:  Include authorization for the Basic Health Plan in the final budget negotiations so ALL low income New Yorkers will have access to affordable health coverage.

Final budget deals will be made this weekend. We need ALL groups making these calls and sending off emails and letters TODAY!!!

Call:

• Governor Cuomo: (518) 474-8390
• Director of Healthcare Redesign James Introne: (518) 408-2500
• NYS Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson: (518) 474-3018
• Commissioner of Department of Health Dr. Nirav Shah: (518) 474-2011

Email us if you have any questions:  Elisabeth Benjamin: ebenjamin@cssny.org and Jessica Wisneski: jwisneski@citizenactionny.org

Thank you for your very important actions today.

UPDATE: Click here to view HCFANY’s Memorandum of Support/Opposition on the 2013-2014 NYS Executive Budget and One-House Budget Bills

 

HCFANY is happy to report that our letter to Governor Cuomo and the NYS Legislature on the budget’s elimination of the Family Health Plus program and out-of-network benefits on the individual market has been delivered!

The letter was actually hand-delivered around the capitol early this afternoon, and sent out to the press shortly thereafter.  Thanks to everyone who signed on – at final count we had 37 groups listed!  You can view the final letter sent by clicking here.

It looks like the budget will be closing down this weekend, but there is still time to make phone calls!  Call your legislators today and tell them to protect low-income families and New Yorkers with special health needs by providing a solution to the elimination of the Family Health Plus program that would treat all consumers equally, regardless of family composition, and provide additional subsidies to all eligible consumers up to 150% of FPL, and to preserve the requirement that insurers offer consumers on the individual market the option of out-of network care.

We can do this!!!