A new analysis of New York’s Medicaid program reveals a ballooning disparity between its rising enrollment and the state’s declining poverty rates.

As many as 3 million New Yorkers appear to be receiving state-sponsored health coverage from Medicaid or the Essential Plan despite having incomes above the eligibility limits, according to the just-published report from the Empire Center.

Drawing on data from the state Health Department and the U.S. Census Bureau, the report estimates that surplus enrollment reached 1.6 million in 2019, peaked at 3.6 million during the pandemic and dropped back to about 3.4 million this year.

The findings imply that roughly one-third of the people receiving taxpayer-funded coverage from New York are earning more than the standard income limits.

The report, authored by Empire Center Senior Fellow for Health Policy Bill Hammond, finds that 44 percent of the state’s population is currently receiving Medicaid or Medicaid-like coverage, which is 20 points higher than the U.S. average and seven points higher than any other state.

In New York City, three out of five residents are enrolled in either Medicaid or the Essential Plan.

“New York should stop abusing Medicaid as a catch-all insurance plan for almost half the state’s population,” Hammond writes. “Instead, it should refocus the program on its original and most important purpose, which is to provide care for those who cannot help themselves.”

The full report, Medicaid Overdose: The Excessive Growth of State-Sponsored Health Coverage in New York, can be read here.

For more information, contact Bill Hammond, billh@empirecenter.org, (518) 858-2835.

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.