#Coverage4All Campaign Goals
Amend the 1332 waiver to expand the Essential Plan health insurance coverage to all low-income New Yorkers independent of their immigration status. Use federal pass through funds to expand health insurance to vulnerable New Yorkers, at no cost to the state. (A3020A/S2237A)
FY 2024 Budget Priority
Coverage 4 All
A campaign of Health Care for All New York (HCFANY) led by
the New York Immigration Coalition and Make the Road New York
FY2024 Legislative Priority: New York State should expand the Essential Plan to ALL income eligible New Yorkers, with income up to 250% of the federal poverty level who are currently excluded because of their immigration status by amending the Federal Section 1332 waiver AND enacting A3020A/S2237A. This would immediately provide coverage to the largest remaining uninsured population in New York State.
Needs
An estimated 255,000 uninsured New Yorkers between the age 19-65 are excluded from health insurance (such as Medicaid and the Essential Plan) because of their immigration status.
A3020/AS2237A would solve this problem by expanding the Essential Plan for all low-income New Yorkers who meet income requirements (up to 250% of the federal poverty level). This would be done using federal funds which can only be utilized for innovative healthcare expansion through a “pass through” account. There would be no cost to the state of NY and would result in state savings. The state must amend its 1332 waiver in order to expand healthcare coverage to these vulnerable new yorkers.
What exactly does the bill do?
This bill would direct the Commissioner of Health (COH) to modify their 1332 waiver program to seek coverage for certain undocumented individuals that are residents of the state. The bill would authorize the COH to implement limitations on enrollment of this population with a minimum coverage expansion of 240,000 individuals and authorize them to provide coverage to individuals beyond that number if 1332 waiver funds are available to support it. Any limitations on enrollment would target coverage opportunities to lower income populations, but would allow the COH to make exceptions for particular subsets of the population that are at-risk.
This bill would direct the COH to seek approval from the federal government for the use of surplus reserves in the basic health plan trust fund, which supports the Essential Plan, to support individuals covered under the 1332 waiver program. This bill would also expand the 1332 waiver program reporting requirements to include information on: any enrollment limitations; any savings to the state due to coverage of undocumented individuals; and any funds from the basic health plan trust fund that are utilized to support the 1332 waiver program.
Download our updated June 2023 materials:
#Coverage4All: Cost and Legality
Other Key Information:
Colorado and Washington have both requested and been approved for a Federal 1332 Waiver that includes using the federal surplus funding to pay for health coverage for
undocumented immigrants. It costs NOTHING for New York State to ask the Federal Government to amend the waiver to include coverage for undocumented immigrants pending
federal approval and federal funding.