NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD, spoke out against a Trump administration proposal that would put immigrants' access to healthcare at risk in an op-ed for NY Daily News.
Dr. Katz penned the op-ed with Henry Garrido, executive director of District Council 37, a municipal employee union in New York City that represents some of the health system's employees.
"NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation's largest public hospital system, serving more than 1 million New Yorkers annually, has survived many threats against its mission to care for all regardless of ability to pay or immigration status," Dr. Katz and Mr. Garrido wrote, adding, "Sadly, as New York City’s biggest provider of care to Medicaid recipients and the uninsured, we're under attack yet again."
The proposal seeks to update federal "public charge" rules. If finalized, the change would mean legal immigrants who recently used Medicaid and other government benefits like food assistance would be ineligible to apply for green cards or visa extensions.
For NYC Health + Hospitals alone, the proposal could mean more than 250,000 patients stop seeking care, and up to 350,000 patients change their care plans in some way, Dr. Katz and Mr. Garrido wrote. It would also threaten up to $362 million in annual reimbursements to the health system.
"[L]et there be no doubt: this type of proposal runs counter to the positive financial and patient service improvements that management and labor have worked together to implement in recent years," they wrote.
Read the full op-ed here. Comments on the rule may be submitted through Dec. 10 here.
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