Health Care For All New York

04/21/2026

On July 1st of this year, nearly half a million New Yorkers will lose their Essential Plan health insurance coverage due to federal health care cuts. The State can ensure these New Yorkers keep their access to health insurance in the final budget. Call leadership today to protect access to health insurance at: bit.ly/ProtectHealthCoverage

08/10/2023

Legislation to protect New Yorkers from crushing medical debt and its consequences is here—Governor Kathy Hochul just needs to sign it. Read more about the Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act and how you can take action: https://www.cssny.org/campaigns/entry/end-medical-debt

07/27/2023

🔔 When Governor Kathy Hochul signs the Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act into law, it will demonstrate New York State’s commitment to its residents—particularly to low-income and communities of color. Take action here to :

The fear of expensive, unfair medical bills should not stop New Yorkers from getting the health care they deserve. Take action with CSS to end medical debt in New York.

07/21/2023

What: Health Care Grassroots Legislative Debrief
When: Wednesday July 26, 6-7PM
Where: Online via Zoom. Please RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/citizenactionny/event/569345/

🎉 Patients and patient advocates scored a win this legislative session when lawmakers passed the Fair Medical Debt Reporting bill, a bill to remove medical debt from credit reports. This will be a huge relief for so many who have faced the consequences of medical bills we cannot afford. The next step for getting Fair Medical Debt Reporting is for the Governor to sign the bill into law.

The state legislature also closed the 2023 session with many important, unfinished pieces of health care legislation.

Join us on Wednesday July 26 to hear from health care campaign organizers about what happened during the session and what we can do next to continue advocating for a health system that works for all New Yorkers.

Join Citizen Action of NY, Labor Religion Coalition of NY, and our statewide health justice partners to discuss our wins and accomplishments during the 2023 state legislative session and learn about organizing and movement building plans for the coming months. Please RSVP to receive the details to j...

07/07/2023

NEW HCFANY Blog: Read HCFANY’s 2024 Rate Review Comments

New York’s individual market premiums might increase by up to 20.4 percent in 2024. New York’s twelve individual market carriers are requesting increases ranging from 13.3 percent by MVP to a shocking 52.8 percent by Emblem. These requested increases far surpass requests from carriers in other.....

07/06/2023

🚨 NY health care premiums could increase by an *eye-popping* 20% in 2024. 🚨

Tell the New York State Department of Financial Services to stop premiums from getting even higher by sharing your public comment here: https://myportal.dfs.ny.gov/web/prior-approval/submit-a-comment

06/22/2022

Mrs. Wilson has three types of health insurance, and a daughter who helps patients fight medical billing problems for work. But it didn't protect her from being sued for $100,000 by the hospital she turned to for care.

https://wethepatientsny.org/2022/06/21/mrs-wilson/

10/05/2021

Even people with insurance end up with medical debt. Check out our latest blog post to learn more about Medicare and medical debt, including some tips on what to do if you get a medical bill you cannot afford or that seems wrong.

Medicare is a life-saver for older Americans, but it does have out-of-pocket costs that can expose some patients to medical debt. A new issue brief created for HCFANY by the Medicare Rights Center explains some of the causes of medical debt for people enrolled in Medicare and describes some...

08/13/2021

New York's individual market plans asked for big premium increases next year, but that's not what they got! Learn more about what the New York Department of Financial Services decided for 2022 premiums here:

In the individual market the biggest reductions were for Healthfirst (from a requested increase of 34.4% to an approved increase of 9.7%) and Highmark Western and Northeastern NY (from a requested increase of 18.1% to an approved increase 6.2%. Three plans will lower their rates in 2022: IHBC by...

08/05/2021

What do patients need to know to pick the right healthcare provider for their needs? This post from the Medicare Rights Center looks for lessons for New York in Medicare's provider comparison tool.

By Anna Szilagyi, Outreach & Program Development Coordinator, Medicare Rights Center In September 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched Care Compare, a redesign of their previous health care compare sites on Medicare.gov. Care Compare streamlines eight separate...

03/19/2021

All of New York's hospital are non-profit charities - but they've still sued over 50,000 people since 2015. Even the pandemic and one of the biggest economic downturns the US has ever faced didn't stop them from suing patients. This article is about the Albany-area but there are also lawsuit hotspots in Syracuse, Corning, and Long Island.

Patients end up at hospitals because they need help - hospitals should NEVER sue their patients, especially when they are charities that pay no taxes and receive billions in state-support.

Despite a pandemic that has left millions out of work and in economic precarity, Capital...

12/29/2020

New York needs a more equitable health planning process. Read what Steering Committee member Elisabeth Benjamin of the Community Service Society of New York had to say about racial disparities and health financing here:
http://ow.ly/a9jw50CWpcJ