Alliance Alert: The Alliance for Rights and Recovery strongly condemns the Trump administration’s latest policy shift, which puts health care coverage for over 750,000 children in New York State at risk. This move, which reverses prior federal approval of continuous Medicaid and Child Health Plus coverage for children from birth to age 6, represents a devastating blow to families working to escape poverty and provide a stable future for their children.
As Governor Hochul and State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald have rightfully pointed out, this policy not only threatens the health and development of children during their most critical early years, but also undermines a public health approach that has long proven both effective and fiscally responsible.
In particular, this policy change:
- Revokes coverage continuity, forcing families to undergo frequent eligibility reviews that will remove children from coverage even if their needs have not changed.
- Penalizes working families for modest income gains, creating a “benefits cliff” that punishes economic mobility rather than supporting it.
- Conflicts with the basic values of the ADA and Medicaid, which were designed to ensure access to services, especially for those who are most vulnerable—including children, people with disabilities, and individuals with mental health and substance use challenges.
This move is just the latest in a pattern of dangerous rollbacks:
- Cuts to Medicaid and Child Health Plus in the recent federal bills will disproportionately impact low-income families.
- The administration’s push to expand involuntary treatment, reduce funding for Housing First programs, and conduct sweeps of unhoused individuals reflects a troubling shift away from community services and public health.
- Now, even children’s access to preventive, primary, and behavioral health services is being stripped away under the guise of fiscal responsibility.
Let’s be clear: Removing children from health care programs is not cost-saving—it is cruel.
Children cannot grow, learn, or thrive without consistent access to doctors, therapists, medication, and screenings. Interrupting coverage will lead to delayed services, worsened outcomes, and long-term public health consequences that far outweigh the short-term financial “savings” claimed by this policy.
The Alliance calls on:
- Governor Hochul and state officials to fight this change at every level, including legal action and public advocacy;
- New York’s congressional delegation to oppose these federal rollbacks and defend Medicaid, CHIP, and the rights of children and families;
- Advocates and families to raise their voices and demand that no child loses health care because of arbitrary red tape or federal budget politics.
We also remind our community that these and other harmful federal changes will be addressed at our upcoming annual conference in September, where workshops and keynotes will highlight:
- How Medicaid and ADA protections are being threatened;
- What’s at stake for children, people with disabilities, and those in recovery who rely on federally funded health programs;
- What you can do to take action and protect these essential programs.
Health care for our children is not a luxury—it is a right. We must defend it with everything we have.
Unbreakable! Harnessing Our Power, Building Our Resilience, Inspiring Hope and Courage
Alliance for Rights and Recovery 43rd Annual Conference
Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center | September 29-October 1, 2025
Register Today Here!
Gov. Hochul: Trump policy change threatens health care for 750,000 NYS children
By Michael Gormley | Newsday | July 30, 2025
ALBANY — More than 750,000 children in New York would lose health care coverage under a new federal policy by the Trump administration, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday.
Hochul said the federal policy change will impact children statewide who now benefit from Medicaid and Child Health Plus, including 33,523 children in Nassau County and 45,908 in Suffolk County.
“This misguided policy threatens the progress we’ve made in keeping young children connected to care during the most critical years of their development,” the governor said.
Under the way the federal government created the program, which is funded by federal and state dollars, states had to “redetermine” a family’s eligibility every 12 months. States also were required to reevaluate eligibility if a family’s circumstances change, such as a rise in income.
However, the Biden administration had approved expansions of the program by several states, including New York. In New York, the program provides continuous health care coverage for children from birth to 6 years old regardless of changes in a family’s circumstances during that time, including rises in household income.
State officials said children should receive health care as their parents try to climb out of poverty and eventually land jobs with private-sector health insurance.
“Children deserve every opportunity to grow up healthy and thrive,” Dr. James McDonald, the state health commissioner, said. “Ensuring they have access to health coverage during their critical years of development is both the right thing to do and sound public health investment.”
However, the Trump administration said it won’t allow any more New York children to be added to the expanded program unless they meet the original federal eligibility requirements.
The administration also said it will assess every current recipient’s eligibility for the program based on the original requirements and remove those who aren’t eligible. The administration said it will provide enough time and technical assistance for states to comply with the new policy in a “phaseout plan.”
A federal spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration said Tuesday the states’ expansions threatened funding that was needed to preserve “these vital programs for the most vulnerable Americans” and conflicted with the need be “good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
The change in policy is part of President Donald Trump’s order to end waste, fraud and abuse in federal spending, according to the order from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The effort also follows the budget bill Trump signed on July 4, which cut funding for health programs for the poor and middle class in part to pay for tax breaks intended to stimulate economic investment and growth.
New York children face health coverage loss under Trump policy – Newsday