
A CAMPAIGN POWERED BY PATIENTS.
Shockingly high medical bill? Unaffordable insurance coverage? Share your health care story and join the movement of patients advocating for more affordable, accessible and equitable health care in New York.
Patient advocates drive policy change.
In 2004, 24-year-old Manny Lanza needed urgent surgery for a life-threatening brain condition. But without insurance, the hospital refused to schedule the treatment. Manny died waiting.
Mannyโs father fought to make Mannyโs story known. He, alongside longtime health and legal advocates, became the catalyst for New Yorkโs charity care law passed in 2007, which requires hospitals to provide free or low cost care to uninsured or underinsured patients. The law โ the Hospital Financial Assistance Law โ is now known as Mannyโs Law.
Patient voices can be powerful forces for health care reform. We The Patients is a movement to amplify those experiences and engage patients in health care advocacy, to create a better health care system.ย We believe collective actionโworking together with community members, activists, unions, nonprofits, policymakers, volunteers, and moreโis the best way to accelerate and actualize change.
Featured patient Stories
Covid-19 survivor receives $400,000 hospital bill โ Janet Mendez, NYC
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed one of our medical systemโs greatest failures: giant bills. Janet Mendez, a COVID-19 survivor, is facing an enormous bill…

Meet John Ingram: A 75-Year Old New Yorker Slaughtered On All Sides By Medical Debt
When you go to the doctor, do you get one simple bill for the health care you received? Many patients, like John Ingram, are caught in our fragmented…
A Health Care System Against Her โ Angela Ozuna Tavera, Bronx County
Angela Ozuna Tavera is a long-term resident of New York City, originally immigrating from the Dominican Republic. When it looked like her Medicaid coverage might come to an end, she…
Get updates on our latest advocacy efforts and learn how you can get involved.
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WHAT ARE WE ADVOCATING FOR?
Over 52,000 New Yorkers were sued by New Yorkโs charitable hospitals between 2015 and 2020, including at least 4,000 people sued during the pandemic. Patients need protections from unfair medical bills and extraordinary collections actions taken over medical debt.
These include:
- Ending liens and wage garnishment over unpaid medical bills
- Making financial assistance applications consistent and accessible for patients
- Eliminating facility fees for preventive careย
Half of New Yorkers say that they cannot afford medical care even with insurance and another 5 percent of New Yorkers โ 1 million people โ have no coverage at all. Health coverage should be accessible and affordable, for all New Yorkers.
New York can improve coverage by:
- Passing the New York Health Act, which would ensure coverage for everyone in the state
- Allowing all income-eligible New Yorkers to enroll in the stateโs Essential Plan, regardless of immigration status
- Expanding Medicaid coverage to one year postpartum for new mothers, making Medicaid accessible for older people or those with disabilities, and expanding eligibility for Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs)
- Eliminating premiums for children enrolled in Child Health Plus
Decisions surrounding hospital building projects and closures are made without considering community need, often resulting in limited access to care for communities with lower incomes or with more people of color. For example, Queens has just 1.5 hospital beds for every 1,000 residents, while Manhattan has 6.4.
We can create a more equitable New York by:
- Adding patients to the Public Health and Health Planning Council to ensure hospital planning decisions reflect patient needs
- Distribute more of New Yorkโs $1.1 billion indigent care pool to hospitals that care for the lowest-income New Yorkers
Consumer assistance programs are crucial to helping patients enroll in coverage and navigate our complex health care system
- Increase funding for Navigators who provide enrollment assistance
- Create a grant program to fund community-based organizations to conduct outreach in communities with large uninsured populations
- Increase funding for Community Health Advocates to handle rising demand
PATIENT RESOURCES
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How to Avoid Facility Fees

Medical Debt in New York: What Patients Can Do to Fight Back
Medical Debt in New York: What Patients Can Do to Fight Back:
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Department of Financial Services: Guide to Surprise Bills
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"People and systems respond respectfully and effectively to the whole person in a manner that recognizes them."
This #PatientAppreciationDay & every day, a reminder that cultural competence is CRUCIAL to quality patient care.

By Jennifer L. Warren NEWBURGH โ ”O.k., so talk to me: How many of you are feeling uncomfortable right now?” Dr. Agathe C. Pierre-Louis...
hudsonvalleypress.comh/t โฆ@WeThePatientsNYโฉ - According to a new poll, more than 20% of Black & Native American adults say affording medical care or prescription drugs is a serious problem for them.
#EndMedicalDebt #PassNYHealth
Shoutout to @WeThePatientsNY! https://t.co/NYFWgLACKP
"Part of the problem is that what information is made available isn't done so with patients in mind," said Elisabeth Benjamin, VP of health initiatives at the @CSSNYorg & founder of @WeThePatientsNY.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2022/08/09/hospitals-medical-billing-transparency-law/10223832002/?gnt-cfr=1
"Part of the problem is that what information is made available isn't done so with patients in mind," said Elisabeth Benjamin, VP of health initiatives at the @CSSNYorg & founder of @WeThePatientsNY.

Consumers are left in the dark about hospital prices before getting care. Now they want Medicare to enforce a new federal price transparency law .
www.usatoday.com
Itโs another #MedicalDebtMonday!
In a report by @WalletHub IDโing where Americans are benefiting the most & least from the new medical debt credit report change, NYC came in dead last โ likely because NYC patients owe too much or have had debt for too long to qualify.
NY must #EndMedicalDebt at the source. Learn more + take action ๐ cssny.org/EndMedicalDebt ...
It's #DisabilityPrideMonth! Medical debt can be a huge burden for patients living with a disability.
We must #EndMedicalDebt for all New Yorkers, especially for folks with higher health care costs. Learn more from our partner @CID_NY โก๏ธ cidny.org ...
One more time for the people in the back ๐ฃ๐ฃ ...
โจNEW PATIENT STORY โจ
In the summer of 2020, Mrs. Wilson was at her Staten Island home battling an active COVID infection when she heard a knock at the door.
Northwell Health was suing her for $100,000.
โYou think youโre going to lose your home and everything you worked hard for.โ
Full story at the link in our bio. ...
"People and systems respond respectfully and effectively to the whole person in a manner that recognizes them."
This #PatientAppreciationDay & every day, a reminder that cultural competence is CRUCIAL to quality patient care.

Aspects of Culturally Competent Care We Don‘t Discuss - Hudson Valley Press
By Jennifer L. Warren NEWBURGH โ ”O.k., so talk to me: How many of you are feeling uncomfortable right n...
hudsonvalleypress.com
h/t โฆ@WeThePatientsNYโฉ - According to a new poll, more than 20% of Black & Native American adults say affording medical care or prescription drugs is a serious problem for them.
#EndMedicalDebt #PassNYHealth

Poll: Black, Native American and Latino families face serious problems from inflation
Those households are struggling to stay afloat, according to a new poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundati...
www.npr.org
Shoutout to @WeThePatientsNY! https://twitter.com/WeThePatientsNY/status/1557024605864337408
"Part of the problem is that what information is made available isn't done so with patients in mind," said Elisabeth Benjamin, VP of health initiatives at the @CSSNYorg & founder of @WeThePatientsNY.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2022/08/09/hospitals-medical-billing-transparency-law/10223832002/?gnt-cfr=1
"Part of the problem is that what information is made available isn't done so with patients in mind," said Elisabeth Benjamin, VP of health initiatives at the @CSSNYorg & founder of @WeThePatientsNY.

'Almost useless': Patients, advocates critical of federal pace to unlock hospital prices
Consumers are left in the dark about hospital prices before getting care. Now they want Medicare to enforce a new federal price transparency law .
www.usatoday.com
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