A series of reports co-led by CUNY ISPH Investigator Mustafa Hussein and Christopher Wimer, director of the Columbia Center on Poverty and Social Policy (CPSP), suggests that New Yorkers with high health needs still face disproportionate barriers to care in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The reports are the final three in a special series from the Poverty Tracker, a partnership between Robin Hood and CPSP at Columbia University, with support from the Helmsley Charitable Trust.
While most COVID-era disruptions have eased, the authors say, New Yorkers living with chronic illness or serious psychological distress have faced worsening delays in care caused by economic hardship and unstable housing.
One report, Patterns of Delayed Care, suggests that New Yorkers with high healthcare needs continue to delay or forgo care at elevated rates, with affordability and insurance coverage remaining key obstacles for those facing economic disadvantage.
Another report, Places of Care Receipt, shows widening economic gaps in access to healthcare appointments, reliance on emergency rooms and urgent care, transportation challenges, and discrimination among high-need New Yorkers between 2021 and 2022.
The third, Hidden in Plain Sight: How Housing Is Linked to Healthcare Access Among New Yorkers Since the Pandemic, suggests that nearly one in four (24%) high-need New Yorkers with persistent housing hardship reported a housing-related healthcare barrier — like unsafe living conditions or no clean place to recover — roughly three times the rate of those with stable housing (9%).
“Our findings document the uneven landscape of post-pandemic recovery in access to and experience of healthcare across economic lines in New York City,” says Dr. Hussein. “Affordability challenges, whether due to cost, insurance, or housing, have created a deepening crisis in access to care for the most vulnerable New Yorkers: those with economic disadvantage and high healthcare need.”
Reposted with permission from CUNY SPH.
