NYC makes changes to eligibility plan in favor of low-income New Yorkers

New York City has effected changes to the essential plan eligibility.

While disclosing this in a statement on Tuesday March 29, 2022, the State’s commissioners stated that the changes aim to grant low-income New Yorkers access to health insurance.

The statement was jointly signed by the Commissioners on health, Manuel Castro of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, M.D., PhD from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Mitchell Katz, M.D., President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals.

“Over the past two years, immigrant New Yorkers have put their health on the line as they worked as essential workers during the height of the pandemic,” the statement reads.

It adds, “Changes made would allow low-income New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status to access the health insurance they need to improve their personal, physical, and mental wellbeing.”

It states further that “As City agencies tasked with promoting the health and wellbeing of all New Yorkers, including immigrants, we urge the Governor and the Legislature to include these changes in the final New York State budget and continue to lead the nation in recognizing healthcare as a human right.”