Testimony: Increasing MCCAP’s Funding in FY25
Juan Pinzon
Testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Health and Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction
Preliminary Budget Hearing
The Community Service Society of New York (CSS) has worked with and for New Yorkers since 1843 to promote economic opportunity and champion an equitable city and state. We power change through a strategic combination of research, services, and advocacy to make New York more livable for people facing economic insecurity. By expanding access to healthcare, affordable housing, employment, opportunities for individuals with conviction histories, debt assistance, and more, we make a tangible difference in the lives of millions. Our Health Initiatives programs help over 100,000 individuals enroll in and use health coverage annually.
In today’s testimony, CSS urges the City Council to increase funding for the NYC Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (MCCAP) to $2.3 million in the FY25 budget. This investment is urgently needed to respond adequately to an increased demand for services related to end of the public health insurance continuous enrollment provision.
In 1998 the New York City Council launched MCCAP to help residents with their healthcare and health insurance needs through a network of 26 CBOs with $4 million in funding ($2 million in Council funds plus $2 million in federal Medicaid matching funds). The program was cut in the fiscal crisis after the Great Recession. In 2019, the Council restored funding and MCCAP has since grown to a network of 11 CBOs—less than half of its old levels of capacity.
Despite the inadequate funding, MCCAP continues to help our most vulnerable populations across the city navigate our Byzantine healthcare system. CSS acts as the hub with its live, toll-free helpline while CBO advocates serve as the spokes that provide in-person services in 15 languages and at 15 different locations across all five boroughs. The advocates are trained and supported by CSS to help people understand their insurance, resolve health insurance problems, get medical services, access affordable care for those who are uninsured, and address social determinants of health.
Since the program relaunched in February 2020, the CSS helpline and CBOs have provided much-needed advocacy assistance to more than 14,000 clients who have struggled to secure coverage and medically necessary care, saving them nearly $800,000 in healthcare-related costs.
Furthermore, MCCAP helps address cultural and linguistic barriers in our healthcare delivery system, which exacerbate health disparities and poor health outcomes, by targeting our services to people of color and those with limited English proficiency (70% of all our clients). Not only we help them access coverage and care, but we also identify systemic issues that exacerbate disparities and work with government agencies and lawmakers to come up with solutions for these problems.
More recently, MCCAP is playing pivotal role in in helping New Yorkers with public health insurance resolve issues related to the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE). Many of these clients need assistance renewing their coverage or understanding their new forms of coverage as they transition from Medicaid Managed Care plans to Essential Plan or Qualified Health Plan coverage. Since the end of the PHE, the number of clients enrolled in public health insurance who needed assistance with renewing their coverage has increased by 72% over the previous year.
MCCAP’s current network of 11 CBOs is insufficient to cover the entire City, leaving many residents unable to get in-person services in some of the most underserved districts, particularly in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Increasing funding for MCCAP is critical to ensure that Medicaid and Essential Plan beneficiaries, who are disproportionately people of color, can rely on MCCAP to help them recertify their coverage, explore other coverage options, and troubleshoot potential issues with gaps in coverage, medical bills, etc.
We urge the City Council to consider increasing funding for MCCAP to $2.3 million in the FY25 budget, which would allow us to increase the capacity of the exiting network and add an additional 15 new CBOs. New York City residents need now more than ever trusted and experienced MCCAP advocates on their side to help them access the coverage and care they need.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony today. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at: 646-385-3569 or at jpinzon@csssny.org.