Fiscal Policy Institute

03/24/2026

While the Assembly and Senate one-house budgets move to increase healthcare provider funding, they have largely failed to address an impending coverage crisis for New Yorkers.

470,000 New Yorkers are scheduled to lose health insurance coverage beginning this July due to the Essential Plan cliff, a crisis left unaddressed in both one-house proposals.

Meanwhile, Federal approval of the State’s Essential Plan transition has unlocked $2.5 billion in state revenue—funding that could fully cover the affected population and mitigate the impacts of Medicaid work requirements.

As we approach the final stages of budget negotiations, legislators have a clear choice to make: prioritize provider interests or protect healthcare coverage for nearly half a million New Yorkers.

Download PDF Key Findings Neither the Assembly nor the Senate one-house budget address the coming Essential Plan cliff, which will cause 470,000 New Yorkers to lose health insurance this July. The federal government’s approval of the State’s Essential Plan transition proposal will generate an

03/24/2026

New York has received final federal approval to maintain and shrink the Essential Plan. But unless the State takes immediate action, it will also strip coverage for 470,000 enrollees beginning in July 2026.

This coverage cliff represents the largest and most rapid loss of access to healthcare in New York’s history and would have catastrophic consequences for our state’s healthcare system

The State can and should use $2.5B newly available funds to protect coverage for those threatened with Essential Plan loss.

470,000 New Yorkers will lose coverage in July—legislators must act to protect them On March 20, 2026, New York received final federal approval for Governor Kathy Hochul’s request to shrink the Essential Plan by lowering eligibility from 250 percent to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Line.

03/13/2026

Acting Executive Director Emily Eisner joined WTEN to discuss proposed tax cuts in the legislative one-house budgets in light of federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid

01/28/2026

Today, Mayor Mamdani announced a $12 billion fiscal deficit facing New York City.

This challenge can be solved (and the Mayor's proactive commitments to funding childcare, transit, and affordable housing can be realized) without slashing services—if the State authorizes the City to raise taxes on the highest earners and most profitable corporations.

There are compelling tax policy reasons for an increase, as well.

See our full statement for details.

New York, NY | Fiscal Policy Institute Executive Director Nathan Gusdorf released the following statement on behalf of FPI: Today, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that New York City is facing a $12 billion fiscal deficit. This deficit is the consequence of multi-year trends, including admirable but u...

12/15/2025

Chief Economist Emily Eisner appeared on NY1 to discuss new housing bills being debated by New York City Council.

While some changes to the bills have been made since Dr. Eisner authored last week's report, the core arguments remain important.

Read our analysis here: https://fiscalpolicy.org/city-councils-housing-bills-would-make-housing-less-affordable

12/12/2025

Many have opined on the feasibility of Mayor-elect Mamdani's ambitious childcare proposals—but the single most decisive factor in whether NYC ends up with a truly universal childcare system is whether that system is supported by sustainable, recurring revenue that grows with the program over time.

FPI's Tax Plan for Universal Childcare in New York City recommends adopting a mix of taxes to finance universal childcare, following the multiple-taxes model that funds the MTA. This combination of progressive and broad-based taxes would allow revenue to grow with the program over time while ensuring stable and fair funding.

Read our four tax proposals below:

Download full brief Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani made universal childcare a central plank of his campaign platform, and once inaugurated he is widely expected to push for a deal in this year’s state budget to authorize new taxes to fund the program.

11/20/2025

On average, President Trump's OBBBA will give the equivalent of a $129,600 annual tax cut to each millionaire in New York next year—2.7% of their total income.

That comes to $12 billion in federal tax cuts for New York's millionaires—at the cost of up to one million New Yorkers losing health insurance and hundreds of thousands facing hunger due to SNAP and Medicaid cuts.

Download PDF On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed into law the federal reconciliation legislation known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), which enacted $4.5 trillion of tax

10/30/2025

This morning, with SNAP cuts looming, Governor Hochul pledged an additional $65M to fund charitable food assistance.

But on Saturday 3 million New Yorkers—including 1 million children—relying on SNAP for food security will collectively lose $640M per month in benefits, triggering a hunger crisis in New York.

We encourage the governor to consider extending funds beyond this pledge—which will cover merely 1 week of food assistance—and to continue to investigate ways to load SNAP EBT cards with the funds upon which families rely.

With the federal shutdown entering its thirtieth day, it is now expected that federal funding for SNAP benefits (food stamps) will run out at the end of October. This morning, Governor Hochul announced an additional $65 million in funding for charitable food assistance, bringing overall state fundin...

10/20/2025

"Every dollar spent on childcare strengthens New York’s labor force, builds our tax base, and makes the state a more affordable and attractive place to live and work.” — Andrew Perry, Director of Fiscal Research

If giving New Yorkers access to NYC Childcare Navigator showed anything, it is that the increasing demand for affordable childcare is growing louder with each passing year.

09/16/2025

Yesterday, two members our senior staff presented testimony to New York City Council on the impacts of the federal legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

Andrew Perry, Director of Fiscal Research, explained that the OBBBA will require New York State to cover an additional $1.4 billion in costs related to SNAP as the federal government shifts these costs to the state. NYC itself will be responsible for an additional $100 million of new administrative costs. More concerning is the human impact: 174,000 individuals in New York City will immediately lose access to SNAP benefits and an additional 264,000 individuals will face arbitrary hurdles to enrollment under the pretense of imposing “work requirements.” The average monthly SNAP benefit is $232 per individual—its loss will push low-income households towards hunger and homelessness.

Andrew Perty Health Policy Director, explained how hundreds of thousands of NYC residents could lose their health insurance because of federal cuts to Medicaid and the Essential Plan, which provide health insurance for 3.5 million New York City residents (out of a total city population of 8.5 million). Kinnucan recommended that the City:

(1) invest in primary care to provide affordable treatment to all NYC residents, especially those who will become uninsured
(2) invest in the City’s Health + Hospitals system to bolster it in the face of impending funding losses
(3) require a larger contribution from private hospitals to finance these programs.

Read the testimony: https://fiscalpolicy.org/fpi-testimony-to-new-york-city-council-on-impacts-of-the-obbba