From 2010 through 2021, the percentage of New Yorkers without health insurance declined every year to 5.2% in 2021, well below the national average of 8.6%. Rates of uninsured New Yorkers are lower than the nation largely due to the State’s higher rates of enrollment in public health insurance programs, which provided coverage to 4 in 10 New Yorkers in 2021. As the State begins reprocessing eligibility determinations for public health insurance, continued transparency and reporting will be essential for understanding the implications for coverage rates and on the State’s budget.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing staffing pressures, particularly a shortage of staff nurses, in NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) facilities, leading to an increased reliance on temporary nurses and higher staffing costs. This report includes a trend analysis of nurses in New York City and the rest of the State, challenges to hire more staff nurses nationwide and the experience of H+H nurse staffing during this time.

New York’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) provides paid time off for eligible employees for bonding with a newborn, or newly adopted or foster child or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Payments under PFL rose steadily between 2018 and 2021 as the amount of allowable time off and weekly cash benefits increased. Almost eight million workers were covered under PFL, with $872 million paid on approximately 156,000 claims in 2021.

Approximately one in ten, or about 800,000, New York households experienced food insecurity from 2019 to 2021, and an increasing number say they face food insufficiency since summer 2021. This report is the second in the “New Yorkers in Need” series. It details recent trends in food insecurity, explains policy interventions by the federal and State governments, and demonstrates a clear need for a continuing commitment to reduce the incidence of food insecurity.

New York had the 13^th highest poverty rate among states in 2021, and has surpassed the national average since 2014. These rates have been persistently higher among some groups, including children; New Yorkers of color, and those with less than a high school education. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted an expansion of the safety net by the federal government that effectively reduced poverty, and some parts of that should be continued.

Drug overdose fatalities surged during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York State, with opioid-related overdose deaths increasing by 68% to nearly 5,000 individuals from 2019 to 2021. The surge is largely due to a sharp increase in deaths from opioids related to illicit fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids. This report outlines long-term trends and recent developments in the battle to save lives from being lost prematurely to substance use disorder.

MetroPlus Health Plan, a subsidiary of NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H), offers low cost to no cost health insurance coverage to eligible New Yorkers. In June 2022, enrollment reached a record high, which can be attributed to conditions and policy changes spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in MetroPlus enrollment have a direct impact on H+H's financial stability. As more of its members choose H+H as a provider, the hospital system generates more revenue.

New York State’s prison population declined by half from March 2008 to March 2021. However, the number of older incarcerated individuals increased marginally over the same period. This report examines the factors contributing to the population change and the medical cost implications.

Monthly enrollment in the Medicaid program has grown by about 5 percent per year since January 2007, and exceeded 7 million for the first time in February 2021. This report discusses the factors that have driven growth in Medicaid enrollment and the resulting cost impacts, the relationship between Medicaid enrollment and economic indicators, and the cost implications if the Division of the Budget's anticipated enrollment reductions fail to materialize.

Comptroller DiNapoli has launched his new online tool to monitor spending of federal recovery aid and COVID-19 relief programs in the State. The dashboard explains each federal and State program, and how much has been received and spent to date. The data will be updated monthly and New Yorkers can use the tool to understand how federal aid is used and to inform future conversations about budget priorities.