New York, NY – Today, following the announcement of several Trump administration cuts to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and New York State Department of Health, lawmakers and advocates rallied to call for Albany to restore public health funding to New York City in the New York State Budget. The state budget is 24 days late.

In 2019 then Governor Cuomo reduced the Article 6 reimbursement for New York City public health activities by 16% (from 36% to 20%), which resulted in a cut of $65 million to vital public health matching funds for New York City. No other county health department experienced this reduction in their reimbursement rate.

Article 6 services are statutorily mandated public health services that every county health department provides to its locality. Article 6 funding is therefore critical in providing public health services to New Yorkers in the five boroughs. This funding pays for vaccinations, tuberculosis management, STI, and HIV testing and treatment, newborn home visits, chronic disease prevention activities, reproductive health care services, blood lead level investigations and overdose prevention, among many others.

With federal government threats and cuts already hitting New York, the lawmakers and advocates are urging the State Legislature and Governor Hochul to restore Article 6 funding to NYC, which has the largest number of Medicaid recipients and a large population of BIPOC New Yorkers.

In January, State Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas introduced legislation to restore the funding.

“This was just highway robbery that Andrew Cuomo put through. I don’t know whether because he hates New York City or because he doesn’t care about the essential health needs of New York City. It is time to restore parity. The state budget this year has a large reserve, much more than the city. $90 million would make a world of a difference to New Yorkers who need essential healthcare, maternal health, immunizations. We could use these resources to provide more services. It is time that New York State restore Article 6 funding to our city,” said NYC Comptroller Brad Lander

"I join Assemblymember Gonzalez-Rojas in calling on our colleagues to pass our bill to restore New York City's Article 6 funding. Cutting this reimbursement rate from 36% to 20% was an irresponsible decision, given the gravity of addressing public health measures in an international city and the higher costs than in other counties. With looming funding cuts from Washington, the State must do everything in its power to protect our City's patients and providers with robust public health program investments," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera.

“The Trump administration and House allies have made it very clear they do not care about the public health of New Yorkers. After cuts have been made to our New York City and State health departments we must act to protect our constituents and keep them safe. We urge Governor Hochul and our legislative leaders to restore Article 6 funding to NYC in the state budget. This loss of upwards of $90 million is deeply alarming at a time when we are witnessing measles cases in the city, bird flu, and more. This truly is a matter of life and death. We must restore Article 6,” said Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas.

“We need to bring this to the finish line. $100 million was just taken from the New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. And now there is a chance the Trump administration will make cuts to HIV/AIDS funding. This funding is vitally important especially now. Let’s move this forward and restore Article 6 funding,” said NYC Council Member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the Council Health Committee.

“Investing in public health benefits us all. It is deeply troubling that Article 6 cuts singled out New York City in 2019 because public health has shown time and again that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound in care. Article 6 is not just about saving lives but also about livelihoods because it would support the jobs of community health workers. This year’s state budget is an opportunity to prioritize public health. It needs to be restored by Governor Hochul and the legislature,” said Dr. Dave Chokshi, Former NYC DOHMH Commissioner and Sternberg Family Professor at City College/CUNY

“It’s critical that we receive federal, state, and local funding. We serve a disproportionately large number of Black and Brown New Yorkers and children. As a pediatric emergency department nurse I know how critical these services are. Restoring Article 6 is more urgent than ever and it is a matter of economic and racial justice. I urge the state to restore Article 6 funding,” said Petar Lovric, BSN, RN, CPEN, CCRN. Director at Large. NYC H+H/Elmhurst Hospital and NYSNA member