Immigration status must not be barrier to health care

Health insurance has always been expensive and unattainable for too many New Yorkers, but the COVID-19 pandemic revealed how deadly the cost of this failure is with thousands of preventable deaths. More than two years into this pandemic, it’s time to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to health coverage, regardless of their immigration status.

By including Coverage for All in this year’s budget, we’ll rectify this continued injustice, finally providing our most vulnerable populations with meaningful relief.

As the daughter of an Ethiopian immigrant, I am intimately familiar with the unique struggles immigrants face. Despite being an integral part of our state, contributing to our economies and communities, many immigrants are systematically excluded from basic services most people may take for granted. During the pandemic, immigrants were a lifeline for our state, serving as farmworkers, home caregivers, delivery workers, and more. Yet more than 150,000 low-income, workingclass New Yorkers remained uninsured because of their citizenship or residency.

A person’s immigration status impacts every aspect and decision of their life. In a medical emergency, people deserve the freedom and security to seek health care, but for many immigrant New Yorkers, the risk of law enforcement or devastating medical bills outweighs the benefits of treatment. Immigrants shouldn’t be forced to carry this burden, and we shouldn’t have to be in the midst of a global pandemic to recognize this basic human right.

New York has the chance to right this wrong by including Coverage for All in the state budget. Immigrants contribute over $1 billion annually in state and local taxes. By investing in Coverage for All, New York can finally make health care accessible for over 46,000 uninsured people who call our state home.

Coverage for All has already been included in both one-house budgets. We hope that Gov. Kathy Hochul continues this effort to advance true health equity, and ensure it remains in the final 2023 budget.

Our immigrant communities are the lifeblood of New York, consistently stepping up in the most critical moments. By ensuring everyone has access to affordable, quality health care, our state can rebuild from the pandemic healthier, safer, and stronger than ever.

Health care justice is finally within reach for New York — it’s time to pass Coverage for All.