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CONTACT: Allison Manuel | 917-213-6028 | allison@ourbronx.org
Healthcare Town Hall Connects New York Health Act, Immigration Know Your Rights, and Community Responses to Federal Threats Facing New Yorkers
Union, Community, Legal and Elected Leaders Prepare Residents to Share Information, Protect Access and Call for State Action
Bronx, NY (March 11, 2026) — On Wednesday evening, more than 70 Bronx residents, healthcare workers, elected officials, union members, and advocates gathered at Bronx Bethany Church for a town hall focused on protecting healthcare access and supporting families navigating growing uncertainty. The event connected threats to healthcare coverage, harmful federal budget decisions, and broader fear affecting immigrant communities, while uplifting the New York Health Act (NYHA) as a long-term state solution to guarantee healthcare for every New Yorker.
Panelists called on New York legislators to take immediate action by passing the New York Health Act, state legislation that would guarantee comprehensive universal healthcare coverage for all New Yorkers regardless of employment or immigration status.
The event comes at a time when federal decisions are putting increased strain on working-class communities across New York. Deep proposed and enacted cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and other safety-net programs, combined with the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits, are expected to increase costs, destabilize coverage, and place additional pressure on hospitals, providers, and patients. In the Bronx, where nearly two-thirds of residents rely on Medicaid, the consequences are expected to be especially severe.
New data released by the Community Service Society show the scale of the damage these changes could cause for patients, healthcare institutions, local economies, and the State budget. Across New York State, some families who previously qualified for tax credits could see major premiums increases. Congressional District 15 will see projected funding cuts of $746 million with over 120,000 residents losing access to life-saving and life-sustaining care.
In addition to the healthcare discussion, the town hall featured a Know Your Rights training led by the Legal Aid Society to help residents better understand their rights and prepare themselves and their families in the face of heightened immigration enforcement. That portion of the program focused on practical information, including rights at home, in schools, in workplaces and in public spaces, as well as steps families can take to prepare in advance.
Panelists underscored that the NYHA would help protect New Yorkers from this kind of instability by creating a single-payer healthcare system that covers all residents and removes financial barriers to care. The bill would guarantee access to medical, dental, vision, hearing, mental healthcare, prescriptions and long-term care services while eliminating premiums, copays, deductibles, prior authorizations, surprise bills, and medical debt. Supporters also point to projected yearly state savings of $16 million and the potential to strengthen hospitals, protect healthcare jobs, and reduce the role of for-profit insurance companies in care decisions.
The town hall was co-sponsored by a broad coalition of health, faith, labor and community organizations including: Our Bronx (formerly NWBCCC), 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Physicians for a National Health Program - NY Metro (PNHP NY Metro), NAACP Williamsbridge Branch, Campaign for New York Health, Healthcare Education Project, Legal Aid Society, Northwest Bronx Indivisible, NYCD15|16 Indivisible, Medicaid Matters New York (MMNY), and NY Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG). On March 17th, these groups will join a statewide mobilization in Albany to urge legislators to take bold action to safeguard New York’s healthcare system and put universal coverage and patient care over corporate profit.
“As a medical student in the Bronx, I’ve seen how so many of my patients—hard workers, immigrants, the people who keep NYC running—delay medical care out of necessity, having to make difficult decisions about whether to schedule a doctor’s appointment and take their prescription medications or put food on the table for their family, simply because healthcare is unaffordable,” said Anuva Goel, medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and member of Physicians for a National Health Program NY Metro Chapter. “They end up in the emergency department presenting with strokes, end stage chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis, heart attacks, and a host of other acute conditions which would have been preventable had they had access to affordable healthcare from a provider they trust. Now, with the federal Medicaid cuts going into effect, even more people, especially here in the Bronx, will end up uninsured and have to face these same difficult choices. This is why it is urgent that we pass the New York Health Act now, guaranteeing that every person living in the Bronx has the right to a healthy life and to the quality healthcare they deserve, free of charge.”
“Our Bronx, formerly the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, have been fighting for decades for the wellbeing of Bronxites,” said Roberta Todd, Vice President of the Board of Our Bronx. “Now is the time for the New York Legislature to pass the New York Health Act that would provide single payer healthcare to everyone that lives and works in New York. It would offset the draconian cuts the Federal government 2025 HR1 bill is imposing on the country reducing Medicaid and Medicare. Bronx County will be hit the hardest in New York State with its history of ranking the worst in health outcomes; 62 out of 62 counties in New York State. The people of the Bronx have been disproportionately impacted by disinvestment and health inequities—and Our Bronx have also been leaders in advancing innovative solutions to address the social determinants of health and create holistic wellness. We ask the New York State Legislature to pass the New York Health Act in this session.”
“As frontline caregivers, 1199SEIU members know that healthcare is a human right and we fully support the New York Health Act to provide comprehensive, universal coverage for every New Yorker. We are proud that our union’s constitution has long committed us to fighting to ‘expand quality healthcare coverage to every person in society,’” said Dell Smitherman, New York State Political and Campaigns Director for 1199SEIU, the largest healthcare union in New York and the country. “The Trump administration's $1 trillion in healthcare cuts along with their ongoing attacks on immigrants and our civil rights is causing a real emergency for far too many Bronx residents that is already exacerbating the existing disparities in our communities–and we must make meaningful change now.”
“In the spirit of being of service and community lawyering, this 1199/CJU Ice Readiness Townhall allows for educating, empowering, and engaging impacted communities on immigration policies and laws that affect them most,” said Supervising Attorney, Michelle Fields, and Senior Staff Attorney Katie Ringer of the Legal Aid Society. “It encourages communities to be more participatory in removing barriers to healthcare, education, housing, and social services.”
“If it weren’t for Medicaid, my family would not have been able to afford my double jaw surgery, home care, the birth of my sister and me, or coverage during crises without delaying treatment,” said Jackelinne Claros Benitez, NYLAG's Paralegal Fellow from the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program. “Soon, thousands of Bronx residents and over a million New Yorkers, like my family, will either risk losing coverage or be forced to navigate a more costly, restricted system because Congress passed Medicaid cuts that will cut coverage, raise premiums, and may even close hospitals or clinics. In the face of these challenges, NYLAG is grateful to partner with our local advocates, elected leaders, and medical providers in speaking out and standing up to make community health in New York fairer, more affordable, and healthier.”
“Christ Church Riverdale, an affiliate member of Our Bronx, is part of the Episcopal Church, a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion who in 2009 urged the passage of a federal ‘single payer’ universal healthcare program and advocated for the pursuit of short-term incremental and innovative approaches to universal health care as the country works toward the goal of a ‘single payer’ program,” said Reverend Emily Anderson Lukanich, pastor of Christ Church Riverdale. “The New York Health Act is a step toward the goal of a federal ‘single payer’ universal healthcare program.”
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About Our Bronx: Founded in 1974 as the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, Our Bronx is a 5,000+ member-led, grassroots organization uniting diverse peoples and institutions to fight for racial justice and economic democracy through intergenerational community organizing, planning and community-led economic development. We build power by advancing community ownership of assets, collective governance of institutions, and systems change that improves people’s lives in the Bronx and beyond. Learn more at ourbronx.org.
