Nearly 2 million people who rely on New York’s publicly funded health coverage, the Essential Plan, are facing an uncertain future as federal budget cuts threaten to destabilize the program. To mitigate potential cuts, Gov. Kathy Hochul is working on a way to protect the coverage.

Federal cuts to New York’s Essential Plan total $7.5 billion, more than half of the program’s annual funding, state officials said. The cuts endanger the program’s continued viability.