October 7, 2026
This morning, UHF held a meeting to continue the discussion around H.R. 1 implementation with the State Health Department (DOH) and other stakeholders. Please find below a summary of updates and information provided and please note that the presentation slides and video recording from this event will be posted soon here.
Updates from Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri
- Their main goals are to eliminate as much coverage loss as possible, reduce barriers for consumers, and minimize burdens on DOH.
- They will be implementing the work requirements on January 1st and the DOH is securing all of Bronx County a hardship exemption due to the high rate of unemployment.
- It’s confirmed that Medicaid will let states use tiers to determine medical frailty.
- NYS DOH is piloting consent-based verification (CBV) with Truv, an income verification technology that securely connects payroll or gig work accounts – instead of uploading paper documents.
- Truv will be fully integrated into the NY State of Health application in February 2027 and has been live for 11 weeks. 6,000 people have used the tool already and they have gained feedback from this experience.
- Since the IRS tax return consent question was reintroduced in 2025, requiring a strict opt-in from the consumer, administrative renewal rates have dropped sharply. Their first strategy is encouraging folks to give consent and they’re working to rewrite the question for clarity.
Keeping Consumers Informed
- The State launched a state awareness and education campaign to help Medicaid members navigate and maintain their coverage due to the impact of HR1 legislation. This was done in a phased approach:
- They spent the beginning of 2026 generating awareness of HR1 and educating stakeholders on why it matters.
- The spring and summer were spent continuing to build educational and administrative support for members.
- This new phase is ongoing currently and it’s time for consumers to take action to prepare for work requirements, if they apply, and they will now be assessing how well this campaign worked.
- They will now be launching a Work Requirements Questionnaire to help members quickly identify if work requirements could apply to them.
- They have a customer service center with a dedicated work requirement line, which is now receiving about 1,600 calls every day.
- To support Medicaid members with health-related social needs across the state, they have also partnered with nine Social Care Networks (SCNs).
Other Information/Updates
- Work requirements overview: Starting Jan. 1, 2027, new applicants must show compliance with the new requirements for the month immediately before they apply.
- Starting with renewal dates on March 1, 2027, onwards, existing Medicaid members must show compliance with the new requirements at renewal.
- Short-term hardship exemptions: The State is intending to pursue all of them, listed below, but additional guidance is needed from CMS.
- High-unemployment area
- Declared emergency/disaster area
- Institutional/high-acuity care
- Extended travel for health care
- Retroactive coverage changes: For expansion adults, retroactive coverage is only one-month prior to application. For all other eligibility groups (e.g. children, aged, disabled, pregnant), retroactive coverage is two-months prior to application.
- Qualifying Activities: Many individuals will need to take action to maintain their coverage and will need clarity. Key takeaways:
- Mobilize partner network to bring together the organizations members already turn to for sharing and coordinating resources.
- Equip partners to help members by giving assistors, partners, and the customer service center tools to support members through next steps.
- Make qualifying activities easier to find for members and partners by updating the “Stay Covered” page and H.R.1 Tool Kit with a compilation of existing opportunities.