New Federal Guidance Threatens Health Coverage For Over 141,000 Brooklyn Children

New federal policy threatens to disrupt health coverage for more than 750,000 young children across New York State, affecting more than 141,000 children in Brooklyn, when it takes effect in 2027, according to Governor Kathy Hochul.

A letter from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) outlined the federal government’s decision to phase out programs that provide continuous Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations. This affects New York's new policy that ensures continuous coverage for children from birth to age six enrolled in Medicaid and Child Health Plus, which shields them from losing coverage due to changes in family circumstances. 

The CMS letter does not immediately revoke funding or end the program, but it indicates that federal officials will not support extensions or approve similar initiatives moving forward for the program that provides health insurance, according to Hochul.

In Brooklyn, there are 14,225 children ages 0 to 6 enrolled in Child Health Plus, and another 127,242 enrolled in Medicaid, according to figures provided by the governor's office. 

“New York will not stand by while the federal government jeopardizes children’s health coverage,” Hochul said in a statement on Wednesday. “This misguided policy threatens the progress we’ve made in keeping young children connected to care during the most critical years of their development. We will use every tool at our disposal to protect access to Medicaid and Child Health Plus for the more than 750,000 young children across New York State who depend on it for a healthy start in life.”

Senator Charles Schumer said cuts to healthcare for children younger than age six "is as cruel as it gets." This is on top of the expected $8 billion in cuts to New York's hospital and health care system after the passage of President Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill earlier in July.

"With Trump’s ‘Big, Ugly Betrayal’ already set to hurt our local hospitals and kick millions of New Yorkers off their health insurance, it makes no sense to target our youngest children and kick them off their coverage," Schumer said in a statement.