A proposal that would extend subsidized health coverage in New York to people regardless of their immigration status has drawn skepticism from Gov. Kathy Hochul about its cost.
Advocates are making an effort to get it reconsidered.
The measure, which would use an untapped pot of money from the federal government, could be considered for final approval in the state Assembly when lawmakers reconvene for two days next week.
But even if the bill passes, Hochul has questions. This week, he pointed to cost concerns about what amounts to finite funds.
“It’s not just saying $2 billion will be there forever, because it won’t be,” he said. “If the federal government wants to give us more to compliment it, supplement it, give us $13 billion, that makes it a lot easier for the state. But I have to look at everything holistically and the impact on our state finances before making a decision.”
Advocates of the measure, known as Coverage for All, responded with dismay while touting projections that it could save $500 million in Medicaid emergency funds.
Hochul had previously asked the Biden administration whether money could be used to expand health coverage.
“Now that the federal government has confirmed what advocates have said all along — that federal funds can be used for this purpose — it’s trying to move the stakes again with made-up numbers about imaginary long-term costs,” he said. say the Cobertura de Tota Coalició said in a statement. “The coverage-for-all bill, which passed the Senate last week, has already been amended to address the concerns and ensure there is no cost to the state.”
In a joint statement, the Task Force on New Americans and the Asian Pacific Islander Task Force urged the Assembly to act as well. The groups pointed to the lives lost in the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of health care on low-income immigrants.
“We can never get back the lives we lost,” the groups said. “But we can ensure that New York remains a leader for immigrant justice and provides coverage for undocumented New Yorkers, moving us closer to truly universal health care.”
