Millions of the most vulnerable New Yorkers are at risk of being denied the healthcare they need.
It’s time to to Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap to address the mental health crisis and ensure quality care for New York’s children, seniors and people with disabilities.
Medicaid provides essential health coverage to millions of New Yorkers who need it most – primarily low-income children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. And many safety-net and rural hospitals rely on Medicaid to keep their doors open. Yet, despite the ravages of a years-long pandemic and rising prices, the Medicaid reimbursement remains far too low. As a result, Medicaid covers less and less of the cost of care. Because of this Medicaid Coverage Gap, pediatricians are forced to turn away low-income children, seniors face dangerously long waits for care, and a growing mental health crisis is overwhelming our hospitals and putting communities at risk.
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New York faces a growing mental health crisis in our schools and on our streets. Because of insufficient Medicaid reimbursements, the state has lost more than 850 hospital beds for mental health and is facing a serious shortage of healthcare professionals. As a result of this coverage gap, residents in need of mental health services often face incarceration instead of receiving the care they need. We need to attract and retain skilled healthcare workers so we can increase the number of hospital beds available for mental health patients, get people the help they need, and keep our communities safe.
Meeting the Mental Health Crisis
Medicaid provides millions of low-income New York families, children, elderly and those with disabilities access to the care they need to get and stay healthy. However, due to low reimbursement rates for care, families and children with Medicaid are often turned down by doctors’ practices and pediatricians, and seniors can face dangerously long wait times for care. Medicaid is a critical part of keeping New York healthy and thriving, but we need to ensure that New York’s families are able to get the care they need, when they need it.
Providing Care for the Most Vulnerable
It’s time to Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap to address the mental health crisis and ensure quality care for New York’s children, seniors and people with disabilities.
Many safety net and rural hospitals rely on Medicaid to keep their doors open. But right now, Medicaid only covers 65% of the cost of caring for the patients it covers. As a result, these hospitals find themselves in unsustainable financial positions and are at risk of cutting back services and even closing their doors. These cutbacks and closures would disproportionately impact those living in systematically underfunded and underserved communities.
Ensuring Access to Quality Care for All New Yorkers
Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap is a campaign hosted by Healthcare Workers Action. Healthcare Workers Action is a national grassroots advocacy project on behalf of America’s frontline healthcare workers and safety net hospitals led by the Healthcare Education Project, a joint initiative of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and the Greater New York Hospital Association.
