纽约州民主党人周四在国会提出了一项立法，旨在扭转联邦资金削减的影响。此前，这些资金削减导致数十万纽约人在今年早些时候被踢出一个广受欢迎的公共保险计划。
New York Democrats introduced legislation in Congress Thursday to reverse federal funding cuts that resulted in hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers getting kicked off of a popular public insurance program earlier this year.
在国会共和党人与总统唐纳德·特朗普通过了一项导致该计划削减约75亿美元资金的立法后，州长凯西·霍楚于7月份降低了该州“基本计划”（Essential Plan）的收入资格门槛。
Gov. Kathy Hochul lowered the income eligibility for the state’s Essential Plan in July after Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump passed legislation that resulted in about $7.5 billion in cuts to the program.
这些资金削减源于新的限制规定，即禁止使用联邦资金为某些合法居留的移民支付保险费用。
The cuts stemmed from new restrictions barring the use of federal funds to pay for insurance coverage for certain legally present immigrants.
这项由众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯和参议员查克·舒默提出的新法案，将取消这些限制，并赋予霍楚政府再次扩大“基本计划”资格的选择权。它还将允许其他州扩大类似保险计划的资格。
The new bill, introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Chuck Schumer, would undo those restrictions and give the Hochul administration the option to expand eligibility for the Essential Plan once again. It would also allow other states to expand eligibility for similar insurance programs.
这项名为联邦《恢复基本计划保险法案》的提案由纽约州全体民主党国会代表团共同发起，出台时间距离中期选举仅剩数周，而不断上涨的医疗及其他生活成本正是此次选举的关键议题。
The federal ‘‘Restoring Essential Plan Coverage Act,’’ cosponsored by the entire New York Democratic delegation, comes weeks ahead of midterm elections in which rising healthcare and other costs are key issues.
该提案还旨在让共和党议员陷入进退两难的境地。这些医疗资金削减是由特朗普和国会共和党人精心策划的，作为特朗普去年批准的大规模国内政策和支出的法案的一部分。
The proposal also aims to put Republican lawmakers on the spot. The healthcare cuts were engineered by Trump and Republican members of Congress as part of Trump’s massive domestic policy and spending bill, approved last year.
奥卡西奥-科尔特斯在一份声明中表示：“我们必须采取立即行动，废除《众议院第1号法案》（国内政策法案）对纽约造成的不良影响。”
“We must take immediate steps to repeal the harmful impacts of H.R. 1 (the domestic policy bill) on New York,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement.
代表纽约州医院和非营利诊所的团体也发表声明，支持旨在恢复“基本计划”保障的这项法案。他们此前曾表达担忧，认为更多的无保险患者将意味着收入减少以及医疗服务项目的削减。
Groups representing New York hospitals and nonprofit clinics also issued statements in support of the bill to restore Essential Plan coverage. They have raised concerns that more uninsured patients will mean less revenue and cuts to healthcare services.
这项新法案将于2027年1月起适用于健康保险计划，其提出时间距离纽约人再次通过州《平价医疗法案》市场注册“基本计划”及其他保险选项仅几周。开放注册期将于11月1日开始。
The new bill, which would apply to health plans starting in January 2027, is being introduced just a few weeks before New Yorkers will once again have the opportunity to sign up for the Essential Plan and other insurance options through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace. Open enrollment starts Nov. 1.
“基本计划”提供免保费的健康保险，自付额极低，为许多难以负担私人保险但不符合医疗补助（Medicaid）资格的纽约人提供了生命线。
The Essential Plan provides premium-free health insurance with minimal copays, providing a lifeline to many New Yorkers who struggle to afford private insurance but don’t qualify for Medicaid.
在削减之前，该计划为约170万纽约人提供保险，个人收入上限约为4万美元。今年7月，这一门槛降至个人的3.2万美元。
Prior to the cuts, the plan insured about 1.7 million New Yorkers, with an income limit of about $40,000 for an individual. That threshold was reduced to $32,000 for an individual in July.
霍楚尔政府最初估计，由于资格限制，约有45万人将失去“基本计划”的保险覆盖。但根据州卫生部的报告，部分人因收入变化而得以保留公共保险覆盖。
The Hochul administration initially estimated that some 450,000 people would lose Essential Plan coverage due to the eligibility restrictions, but some were able to maintain public insurance coverage because of changes in their income, according to a report from the state Department of Health.
截至8月30日，在州预计受此变化影响的纽约人中，约有19.7万人得以继续留在“基本计划”或注册了同样无月保费的医疗补助。
As of Aug. 30, about 197,000 of the New Yorkers the state expected to be affected by the changes were able to either remain on the Essential Plan or enroll in Medicaid, which also has no monthly premiums.
另有5.9万纽约人注册了通过州《平价医疗法案》市场提供的私人健康计划。这些计划的保费可能相当高昂，尽管部分注册者符合获得补贴的条件。
Another 59,000 New Yorkers enrolled in private health plans offered through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace. These plans can come with hefty premiums, although some who enrolled qualified for subsidies.
然而，有177,841名原“基本计划”参保人未通过州市场注册其他保险计划，其中一些人目前可能处于无保险状态。
But 177,841 former Essential Plan enrollees did not enroll in another insurance plan through the state marketplace, some of whom may now be uninsured.