Latest news with #EssentialPlan
Politico
11 hours ago
- Health
- Politico
New York's abortion fund to run out of money
Beat Memo The New York Abortion Access Fund is struggling to keep up with demands as more people from out of state request financial assistance and as the cost of the procedure rises, POLITICO Pro's Maya Kaufman reports. The organization — which pays clinics on behalf of patients who cannot afford an abortion — continues to see rising demand driven by Florida and other southern states since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. About 34 percent of people who reached out to the fund in 2024 were calling from outside New York, executive director Chelsea Williams-Diggs told POLITICO. That has risen to 38 percent so far this year. At the same time, abortions are getting more expensive. More of the fund's clients are seeking abortions later in pregnancy, which tend to be more medically complex, and therefore costlier, procedures. And only a few clinics in New York City perform abortions after 19 weeks, so even the fund's local clients may face travel costs, Williams-Diggs said. Meanwhile, philanthropic donations have declined since a 'post-Dobbs bump' after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, Williams-Diggs said. Both the city and the state provide funding, she added, but it comes with strings that make the money difficult and slow to access — so much so that her organization recently took out a $1 million loan to bridge the gap. 'It's catching up to us,' she said. The state Senate directed $1 million to the organization last year through the Reproductive Freedom and Equity Grant Fund, which Gov. Kathy Hochul created in 2022. The fund was not previously accessible to organizations that offer direct patient assistance for abortions. But Williams-Diggs said the money has yet to come in the door, because her organization still has to submit required documentation. Meanwhile, reproductive health advocates are pressing Hochul's administration to make those dollars available for practical support, such as transportation, for people seeking abortions. IN OTHER NEWS: — New York, the home of one of the costliest Medicaid programs in the country, is expected to see virtually every facet of spending face the brunt of deep federal aid cuts,POLITICO's Nick Reisman and Maya Kaufman report. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget chief warned the state will suffer a $750 million hit this fiscal year due to cuts to the state's Essential Plan that take effect Jan. 1. That amounts to a $3 billion annual cut when the state's new fiscal year starts April 1. 'Nobody is prepared to backfill $3 billion in cuts from Congress,' said Blake Washington, the director of the governor's budget office. 'There's no state in the union that can do that, particularly on a recurring basis.' The state's Essential Plan, which covers roughly 1.6 million low-income New Yorkers who are ineligible for Medicaid, relies on billions of dollars in federal funding that will start drying up in January under the megabill. On top of that, the state will have to spend upwards of $500 million over several years to stand up a system for administering the megabill's new Medicaid work requirements, Washington said. 'We've never seen health care cuts like these,' Democratic Assemblymember Amy Paulin said. 'We've never seen a systemic cut to health care in this country like we're seeing in this federal bill. We can't just tax people in New York and make it up. I don't see how we do that. It's too much money.' ON THE AGENDA: — Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The NYC Health + Hospitals board of directors' capital committee meets, followed by a meeting of the finance committee. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@ and Katelyn Cordero at kcordero@ Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. What you may have missed — Fatal overdoses in New York City continued trending downward during the third quarter of 2024, hitting their lowest level since early 2020, according to provisional data released last week. The new data shows 498 people died from an overdose during that three-month period, down from 564 deaths in the prior quarter and 647 in the quarter before that. It is the fewest overdose deaths in any quarter since the first three months of 2020, when the city tallied 456 fatal overdoses. 'For too long, opioid overdoses have ripped families and communities apart, but there is light on the horizon with opioid overdose deaths citywide seeing their lowest numbers in five years,' Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. 'We are committed to maintaining this downward trend by continuing to invest in the programs and treatments that support those who are struggling.' ODDS AND ENDS NOW WE KNOW — Twenty New York hospitals lost obstetric services between 2010 and 2022, per a new analysis. TODAY'S TIP — Feeling burnt out? Ashwagandha could help. STUDY THIS — Via NBC: A large new study found a link between premenstrual disorders and cardiovascular disease. WHAT WE'RE READING — Why are mothers in New York having so many c-sections? (Times Union) — State legislators across the U.S. are weighing laws around menopause care and training for doctors. (CNN) — FDA offers to trade faster drug reviews for lower U.S. prices. (Bloomberg) Around POLITICO — Big Pharma and labor make for strange bedfellows in fight against California drug pricing bill, Rachel Bluth reports. — How hospitals could still escape the megabill's Medicaid cuts, via Robert King, Amanda Chu and David Lim. MISSED A ROUNDUP? Get caught up on the New York Health Care Newsletter.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Inside the Times' sick scaremongering on New Yorkers losing health care
The New York Times' lead headline Thursday was outright, deceptive fearmongering: 'Why 1.5 Million New Yorkers Could Lose Health Insurance Under Trump Bill.' Yet the story was little more than a rewrite of Democratic campaign releases. For starters, many of its figures come from health-care bosses and state officials ever eager to maximize their take in federal dollars — and with a keen interest in overestimating the damage. Advertisement These sources, and the Times itself, won't talk much about the obscene amounts (tens of billions) that New York spends on government-subsidized health care — or how much of that bill Washington winds up footing. Let alone note that many who lose coverage under this law can — and surely will — find other plans to cover their health care, whether public or private. Advertisement Nor are they eager to admit how the state completely games the system to suck up federal bucks. Or how individuals themselves game — or outright defraud — Medicaid. Last year, the Empire Center's Bill Hammond found that 'as many as 3 million New Yorkers appear to be receiving state-sponsored health coverage from Medicaid or the Essential Plan despite having incomes above the eligibility limits' — but the state doesn't bother checking. Advertisement That's millions who likely should lose their coverage because they don't qualify: Where's the injustice in the GOP's new law forcing the issue? It's true that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act aims to (slightly) restrain the growth of federal Medicaid outlays, with an eye on keeping the program solvent for those who truly need it. It does this by targeting much of the waste and fraud: One key provision, for example, requires young, able-bodied Medicaid recipients to work at least 80 hours a month. The Times somehow doesn't explain what's wrong with that. Another cuts off federal aid for noncitizens: That includes hundreds of thousands in the Essential Plan, which is almost entirely funded by the feds, and reimburses providers at more than twice the Medicaid rate. Advertisement And still, the plan has raked in so much federal dough that it's built huge surpluses — amounting to nearly an estimated $12 billion through the 2024-25 fiscal year. Yet people who qualify for the Essential Plan are not the poorest of the poor; indeed, they make too much to qualify for Medicaid (which in itself cover about a third of New York's population, going far above the poverty line). Voters across the nation don't want to cover noncitizens (particularly illegal migrants); if New York politicians insist on it, they can find the cash elsewhere in the bloated state budget. Look: Medicaid outlays have soared this last decade, as Democrats juke the rules as a stealthy route to nationalized health insurance; this is a huge reason why Uncle Sam's deficits now reach $2 trillion a year. And the GOP law only begins to dent future increases. Liberals and Democrats are desperate to paint this modest restraint as dealing a harsh blow to the needy: Telling the truth won't help them win any voters back. How pathetic that they see their best interests served by leaving Medicaid, and the nation, on track to go bankrupt.
Politico
4 days ago
- Business
- Politico
New York will struggle to absorb Trump's megabill cuts
'Nobody is prepared to backfill $3 billion in cuts from Congress,' said Blake Washington, the director of the governor's budget office. 'There's no state in the union that can do that, particularly on a recurring basis.' The dynamic stands to create a political problem for Hochul, who will run for re-election next year and wants to avoid blame for enacting unpopular cuts to services. She preemptively blamed New York's House Republicans for the looming state spending reductions as the package was being negotiated. Last week, her office pointed to an estimated 63,000 jobs that will be eliminated as a result; nearly half are in the health care sector. The early analysis from her administration, less than a week after Trump signed the measure into law, does not yet include data from the Congressional Budget Office. Already, though, top New York officials are weighing how to make up losses to other spending areas like food assistance. Health care cuts are a far steeper hill to climb. The state's Essential Plan, which covers roughly 1.6 million low-income New Yorkers who are ineligible for Medicaid, relies on billions of dollars in federal funding that will start drying up in January under the megabill. On top of that, the state will have to spend upwards of $500 million over several years to stand up a system for administering the megabill's new Medicaid work requirements, Washington said. Hochul opposes tax hikes, but will face pressure from left-flank state lawmakers as New York grapples with one of its toughest budget years since Covid. Officials previously warned no tax hike will be able to fill the hole created by the federal cuts. Democrats must now sort out how to address the federal spending reductions, which will become a multi-year concern as other aspects of the measure take effect.
Politico
04-07-2025
- Health
- Politico
Megabill hits health care for immigrants, including legal ones, hard
Chapman added that Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis' support for Trump's crackdown has already discouraged patients from seeking care at the community health centers, even though they typically do not ask about immigration status. 'If my status was not clearly defined, I would be concerned about signing anything,' he added. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee, told POLITICO the megabill 'ensures that federal health care dollars are prioritized for American citizens.' Buchanan led a letter with 11 members of the Florida Republican House delegation supporting the megabill. Under fiscal pressure, blue states, including Minnesota and Illinois, have moved to roll back health care access for undocumented immigrants, who are not eligible for any federally subsidized health care programs. Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, approved a state budget that will scale back free health care for undocumented immigrants. One of the hardest-hit states from the megabill restrictions on immigrants will be New York, which is one of three states that have enacted a basic health program allowed under the Affordable Care Act known as the Essential Plan. The Essential Plan offers low-cost health insurance for New Yorkers earning up to 250 percent above the federal poverty line and is funded by federal dollars that would otherwise be used for ACA tax credits. The GOP megabill will strip coverage for half a million immigrants covered by the plan and shift the cost to New York. The state must pick up the tab because of a 2001 state court decision that requires it to cover immigrants who are ineligible for Medicaid due to their immigration status. The state's hospital lobby, the Greater New York Hospital Association, believes the provisions as a whole will cost New York $3 billion annually and leave 225,000 immigrant New Yorkers uninsured. 'The downstream impacts are not just on immigrants,' said Elisabeth Wynn, executive vice president at the New York hospital group. 'We don't close services for a particular insurance category, those get closed for all.' Earlier this month, five Republican House members from New York wrote a letter to Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) urging a two- to three-year delay to the immigrant restrictions, warning an 'abrupt elimination…will have drastically disruptive consequences for New York's healthcare system.' The bill will exclude lawfully present immigrants earning below the federal poverty level from the Obamacare marketplace starting next year. Marketplace restrictions for lawfully present immigrants earning above the poverty level will start in 2027.
Politico
23-06-2025
- Health
- Politico
Adams administration changes course on Medicare Advantage
Beat Memo Mayor Eric Adams announced he will not move forward with a contentious effort to cut costs by shifting retired city workers to a Medicare Advantage plan, bringing a sudden end to a four-year saga. 'We have heard concerns from retirees about these potential changes at numerous older adult town halls and public events, and our administration remains focused on ensuring that New York City remains an affordable place to live,' Adams said in a statement Friday. Just two days earlier, the state Court of Appeals ruled in City Hall's favor in a lawsuit over the Medicare Advantage transition, handing Adams a rare win in the long legal battle to implement a plan he inherited from former Mayor Bill de Blasio. But Adams said the city had found other ways to address health care costs. He did not offer specifics, but City Hall announced a plan earlier this month to save $1 billion annually by designing a new health coverage option with EmblemHealth and UnitedHealthcare for the majority of active city workers. 'Since the mayor has decided not to proceed with the Medicare Advantage plan, this fulfills the unions' obligation to generate Medicare-eligible retiree health care savings,' Henry Garrido, executive director of public employee union DC 37, said in a statement. 'The savings from the abandoned plan must not come at the expense of our members.' Many elected officials applauded Adams' decision, which comes shortly before a planned kickoff event for his reelection campaign. Local lawmakers and municipal retirees plan to celebrate the news today in City Hall Park, but they are already eyeing their next steps: continuing to lobby for legislation that would permanently protect their health benefits. The bill, which is spearheaded by Council Member Christopher Marte, has 17 co-sponsors. 'While this decision is welcome, we have to codify our success,' Marte said in a statement. 'Our retirees deserve certainty, dignity, and care—not corporate shortcuts and backroom deals.' ON THE AGENDA: — Thursday at 11 a.m. The state will hold its annual forum on the 1332 waiver. — Thursday at 3 p.m. NYC Health + Hospitals' board of directors meets. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@ and Katelyn Cordero at kcordero@ Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. What you may have missed — The state plans to bar health insurance companies from paying brokers a commission for enrolling people in the Essential Plan starting next year, POLITICO Pro's Maya Kaufman reported. Independent insurance brokers are mobilizing in opposition to the little-noticed policy change, which was tucked into a 73-page information booklet for health plans about 2026 participation in the NY State of Health insurance marketplace. Odds and Ends NOW WE KNOW — Melanoma cases are on the rise in women under 50. TODAY'S TIP — Get ready for scorching temperatures this week by taking these precautions. STUDY THIS — Via WaPo: The 'sitting-rising test' could be an early indicator of how long you'll live, according to new research. What We're Reading — Insurers pledge to ease controversial prior approvals for medical care. (New York Times) — More employers are giving workers money to buy their own health insurance. (AP) Around POLITICO — CMS finalizes plan to narrow Obamacare enrollment and DACA sign ups, David Lim reports. — Via POLITICO's Jordan Cairney: Provider tax crackdown is a no-go in the House, Hawley warns. MISSED A ROUNDUP? Get caught up on the New York Health Care Newsletter.
