Narcisse on preventive care investment and thanks committee staff

Preventive care plays a critical role in keeping New Yorkers healthy and reducing the need for costly emergency interventions.

We call it penny-wise, dollar-foolish.

Last week, during the committee's joint hearing in ambulance response times, we heard firsthand about the significant strain already facing the city's emergency department and EMS workforce.

Ensuring that residents can enroll in and maintain health coverage is an important part of addressing these challenges.

as access to preventive and primary care can help reduce our vulnerable emergency room visits and ease pressure on the broader health care system.

Continued investment in programs that support enrollment and re-enrollment in health care coverage will be essential to strengthening New York City's health care safety net.

As New York faces a period of uncertainty in health care coverage,

Understanding how New York City Care is serving uninsured residents and how the city can strengthen its healthcare safety net will be more important than ever.

I look forward to today's testimony.

I know the room is not as crowded as expected because this is a big deal.

Testimonies will help us, right?

Today we'll be hearing from stakeholders and shareholders, of course, opportunity to expand awareness of the program and any policy.

Operational or outreach investment that may be needed to ensure New York City care continues to meet the evolving needs of New Yorkers.

Before I conclude, I would like to thank Committee Counsel Raina Lee, Policy Analyst Manoa Butt, Financial Analyst Molly Howard, and my staff for all the work they do.

especially in the district office.

I want to say thanks to Deputy Chief Frank Shea, Drashina Jailo, and of course, my dear fellow, that's Matthew Lee.

Thank you for being here.

I would like to turn it over to the committee council to administer the oath witness from the administration.

Thank you.

Raina?