John,

I believe that every New Yorker should be able to stay healthy and get care when they need it, and I believe it’s the duty of elected officials to help make that a reality.

That means not only making health care more affordable, from eliminating co-pays for insulin to expanding access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.  

It also means making sure more New Yorkers can access that care.

More New Yorkers can get care when we have more health care workers. Last week, we launched a new initiative to recruit and train thousands of health care workers across New York — investing $646 million to reduce the staffing burden on our health care heroes and help boost their ranks. It’s going to be life-changing for nurses like Idongesit Ekong, who will be able to go back to school to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner thanks to this program.

More expectant moms can get care when they don’t have to choose between going to the doctor and earning a paycheck. As New York’s first mom governor, I know how important it is to attend those prenatal appointments. We’re making it easier for moms to get to them by making New York the first state in the nation to offer paid time off for prenatal care.

More families can get care when we invest in our local hospitals. With $27.5 million in new state funding, Elmhurst Hospital is going to be able to more than double the size of its Women’s Pavilion and build a new, state-of-the-art Pediatric Intensive Care Unit — helping more local families access care without traveling miles away to other hospitals. Through our budget, we also committed $3.2 billion for distressed hospitals throughout the state so they can continue providing high-quality care for their communities.

As governor, I’ve had the chance to meet some of the health care heroes who are working day in and day out to provide patients with the best care possible, as well as New Yorkers whose lives have been changed thanks to our efforts to expand access to that care.

But I know our work is not yet over. I’m going to keep fighting to make sure all New York families can get the care they need and deserve.

Ever Upward,

Gov. Kathy Hochul