Long on Medicaid changes and readiness
Long says Medicaid eligibility isn't changing, but six-month recertification and work requirements will cause many to fall off coverage. He says H&H is terrified but preparing, and that the loss of coverage will be gradual rather than a single-day event.
With the Medicaid changes,
It's going to have a similar flavor, but it's going to be slightly different.
People's eligibility for Medicaid is not what's changing.
They have to recertify every six months, and they have to complete the work requirements.
So it's all of these things that are being put in front of them to ultimately cause a lot of them to fall off of health insurance, which is deeply disturbing to my patients.
I will tell you we're terrified about what's coming up.
But our approach to that is going to be similar.
That's where there's the strand of similarity with EP5.
We're going to have our financial counselors call you.
We've already sent out hundreds of thousands of communications.
We're going to be in touch with you about the work requirements, helping you to find a program, helping you to understand what a certified requirement is.
For the with the Medicaid changes, it's not like on January 1, 2027, there's going to be 900,000 uninsured people in New York City.
It's going to be gradual over time.
So there's two, I would say, equally important things that we have to do to get ready.
Number one, we need to be in touch with our patients to make sure we're helping them to recertify, helping them to meet the work requirement.
And number two,
For anybody that falls out or loses coverage and falls, NYC cares to be there and be strong and be ready to catch them.
I know that's what we're here for today, but I just wanted to make the point that these things are connected together.