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Beat Memo

New Yorkers overwhelmingly favor Medicaid covering help outside hospitals or doctor’s offices, according to a new poll commissioned by poverty-fighting nonprofit Met Council and shared exclusively with POLITICO.

The poll, which was conducted by Slingshot Strategies, surveyed 1,638 likely New York voters between Oct. 15 and Oct. 25 through an online panel and had a 3.4 point margin of error. About 27% of respondents self-identified as Medicaid beneficiaries.

The vast majority said Medicaid should cover grab bars and railings for seniors and people with disabilities, care navigators, rides to medical appointments, mold and pest removal, meals for conditions like diabetes, weekly groceries for people with medical conditions and housing costs.

The poll is part of a six-figure advocacy campaign by Met Council to boost awareness of Medicaid’s social care networks.

The social care networks were established under a $7.5 billion Medicaid redesign initiative called New York Health Equity Reform that covers the cost of an array of social services, such as nutritional counseling and medically necessary home modifications.

The state’s intention is to improve the health of select Medicaid enrollees by addressing unmet social needs like food insecurity and homelessness.

Nearly two-thirds of surveyed voters said they had not heard of the social care networks, but after receiving a short description of the program and its goal, 72% said they supported it — including 83% of Democrats, 72% of independents and 57% of Republicans.

The federal waiver authorizing the state’s initiative expires March 31, 2027, so Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration is now asking for a five-year extension.

The decision is up to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which under the Trump administration has expressed some skepticism about using federal Medicaid dollars for services that aren’t technically health care.

Met Council CEO David Greenfield said New York’s initiative has bipartisan support — based on his conversations with lawmakers — so he is cautiously optimistic that the extension request will be approved.

But the nonprofit isn’t resting on its laurels.

As part of the advocacy campaign, Met Council will join the social care networks and other community-based organizations for a lobby day in Washington later this month.

“We are ramping up the advocacy after the election,” Greenfield said in an interview.