‘Tip of the iceberg’: nearly 500,000 New Yorkers lose health insurance due to Trump cuts

Healthcare advocates hold a news conference with Democratic lawmakers on 1 April 2026, at the Capitol in Albany, New York. Photograph: Albany Times Union/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Healthcare advocates hold a news conference with Democratic lawmakers on 1 April 2026, at the Capitol in Albany, New York. Photograph: Albany Times Union/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images ‘Tip of the iceberg’: nearly 500,000 New Yorkers lose health insurance due to Trump cuts First of major coverage losses expected as a result of the ‘One Big Beautiful’ bill signed into law one year ago Nearly 500,000 moderate-income New Yorkers will be dumped from their health insurance plans on 1 July – the first of major coverage losses expected as a result of HR 1, the Republican-led law signed almost exactly one year ago. The law, sometimes called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” slashed government health spending by $911bn nationally in favor of permanent tax breaks for higher-income families and border security. “It’s an all hands on deck situation,” said Maia Dillane, senior director of strategy and implementation at the Arab-American Family Support Center (AAFSC), based in New York City, where the bulk of this summer’s coverage losses are expected. The AAFSC is one of 20 community-based organizations working with the Community Service Society of New York to find people new health coverage. But even as community organizations work against a deadline – people have to find new coverage within 60 days or wait until “open enrollment” in November – they expect many simply will not be able to afford the new costs. “We’re seeing a lot of families still going back and forth on whether they can enroll in one of the qualified health plans – or whether they are just going to opt out of the coverage completely,” said Rahem Bader, director of the community health and well-being program at AAFSC. “Families are having to choose how they’re going to split their costs when it comes to their healthcare, food, etc.” The July coverage losses are related to the loss of New York’s “essential plan”, a provision of “Obamacare”. In 2023, the federal government approved a pilot program in New York to cover residents earning 200-250% of the federal poverty level, or up to $39,900 for a single person and $66,625 for a family of three. For reference, both the National Employment Law Project and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage calculator estimate a living wage for a single person in New York at about $73,000. The pilot was meant to last until 2028 and, according to planning documents approved by the feds, be deficit neutral for the federal government. More people would be enrolled in very low-cost plan, without premiums or deductibles, and minimal co-pays, for the same amount as the federal government would have paid New York anyway. But the program was thrown into upheaval soon after the passage of HR 1 in 2025, according to New York State of Health , the ag