State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), chair of the State senate health committee, has shared his disappointment that his “Coverage for All” health care bill did not pass the State assembly, despite having recently passed the State senate, an advancement which had marked a major milestone in his long-term and ultimate goal of passing the NY Health Act.

 

“I am incredibly disappointed that Coverage for All did not pass the assembly despite the herculean efforts of Assembly Member Gonzalez-Rojas and our group of dedicated advocates,” Rivera said in a June 22nd press release. “Together, we had to fight back against misinformation and misguided apprehensions about our legislation in an urgent effort to move this bill.”

 

Rivera said the bill had been an opportunity to expand much needed healthcare coverage in New York State, without incurring any additional cost to the State, preventing thousands of New York State residents from delaying necessary medical care or incurring detrimental medical debt.

 

“Our Coverage for All bill could have been fully paid for by federal passthrough funding under the 1332 waiver program, which the federal government confirmed two weeks ago,” the senator said. “In fact, we amended our original bill to give the administration the flexibility to structure the program to ensure its fiscal viability, including the option to implement an enrollment cap.”

 

Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) permits a state to apply for a State Innovation Waiver (also referred to as section 1332 waiver) to pursue innovative strategies for providing residents with access to high quality, affordable health insurance while retaining the basic protections of the ACA.

 

Rivera continued, “As leaders of New York, historically a bastion for immigrants that built this state, I would have hoped that assembly leadership would demonstrate the courage to bring the governor to the table for this critical policy. Last year, the governor expressly said that New York would seek federal funds to expand health coverage to eligible undocumented New Yorkers.”

 

He added, “It is extraordinarily distressing that she did not keep her word by supporting passage of this bill and instead publicly seeded doubt about its feasibility despite the federal government’s explicit guidance for New York to move forward.”

 

Rivera said he and others had been looking forward to working with Gov. Kathy Hochul to bring millions of dollars to the State to cover undocumented New Yorkers. Instead, he said, thousands of New Yorkers would now continue to rely on the emergency room for healthcare at what he said was an incredibly steep cost to the State.

 

“I want to thank my fellow warrior, Assembly Member Gonzalez-Rojas, and every single advocacy organization who worked tirelessly to support this bill,” the senator said. “This fight is not over. On behalf of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who were depending on this policy, I am committed to persevering with our allies to achieve guaranteed healthcare for all.”

 

On June 9, the senator had said that the State senate had taken a major step in efforts to make quality and affordable healthcare accessible to all New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status in passing the “Coverage for All” bill on June 8. “I am deeply grateful to Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins for her bold leadership on this issue, and to Assembly Member Gonzalez-Rojas for her steadfast partnership and continued focus to ensure this historic bill moves through the Assembly,” he said at the time.

 

He had added, “After receiving clear guidance from the federal government earlier this week that New York can indeed utilize federal funding under the 1332 waiver program to expand health coverage to eligible undocumented New Yorkers, passing this fiscally responsible and common sense public health proposal through the Legislature will ensure that thousands of uninsured New Yorkers can proactively take care of their health while potentially saving New York millions in the long-term.”

While we work to #PassNYHealth, my #Coverage4All bill passed the @NYSenate last night, a key step to make quality & affordable healthcare accessible to ALL NYers. I’m thankful to @votejgr for her work with the Assembly to pass this monumental bill. pic.twitter.com/mYPcGmz4TS

— Gustavo Rivera (@NYSenatorRivera) June 9, 2023

Amid budget discussions in mid-April, as reported, representatives for Gov. Kathy Hochul had said that expanding the Essential Plan [healthcare coverage plan] to undocumented immigrants through the 1332 waiver process carried significant financial uncertainty and risk.

 

Representatives for the governor said in April the federal government would not provide incremental funding for the undocumented population and was unlikely to allow the State to tap its accrued balance in the Essential Plan Trust Fund, as the Trust Fund’s uses – authorized under the Affordable Care Act and in federal law – are limited to expanding health care for U.S. citizens or lawfully present immigrants only.

 

After subsequent discussions, as above, Rivera later said federal officials were willing to unlock such federal funding to finance the expansion of health care coverage to immigrant New Yorkers who pay taxes.

 

Encouraging assembly members to follow the senate’s lead, Rivera said of the bill’s passage in the senate, “I am so proud to be part of the Senate Democratic Conference and am thankful to my colleagues for recognizing the urgency of passing this bill and the benefits for New Yorkers and our healthcare system. I want to thank our incredible coalition of advocates and New Yorkers who fought tirelessly for this bill since day one.”

 

Editor’s Note: In a previous version of this story, it was incorrectly reported that the bill had passed both houses of the legislature. We apologize for this error.