Governor and AG kick off new year with affordability, consumer protection goals
/
Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul laid out a list of consumer protection and overall affordability proposals on Tuesday ahead of the governor’s State of the State address next week. Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
By Ryan Schwach
Governor Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James laid out a new agenda of consumer protection and affordability plans on Tuesday, giving a preview of goals the governor will lay out in her 2024 State of the State address.
Hochul announced proposals to amend New York’s consumer laws to strengthen consumer protections against unfair business practices, and other affordability and consumer protection plans, including an increase in paid medical leave benefits, the elimination of co-pays for insulin on certain insurance plans and proposed legislation to fight medical debt.
“The first plank of the 2024 State of the State is our consumer protection and affordability agenda – one that combats the effects of illness, disability, unfair business practices and low wages,” Hochul said in a statement. “If the last two years have been about putting more money in New Yorkers’ pockets, this year is about keeping it there and that starts with safeguarding people’s hard-earned cash.”
The governor unveiled the plans in Albany on Tuesday morning alongside James and supporters of the proposals.
“Today we're going to begin to fight to make sure we can put money back in the pockets of New Yorkers and make our state once and for all, a more affordable place to live,” Hochul said, adding that expansion of the consumer protection laws is the largest in nearly four decades.
“[It] would make unfair and abusive practices illegal and give the Attorney General's office a path to punish predatory operators and that's where it will help deter the bad actors from using these practices that have cheated New Yorkers out of their hard earned money,” she said.
Hochul and James said that the expansion of the law will make it easier to prosecute companies who harm New Yorkers via price gouging and other unfair and illegal practices.
“My office, as all of you know, has taken on countless companies focusing on deceiving and harming New Yorkers, from predatory debt collectors, to companies that price gouge to businesses that make promises that they know that they can not keep,” said James. “Companies that took advantage of the pandemic and other companies that engaged in price gouging, unfortunately on essential goods during the pandemic, companies that canceled services or misled consumers but refused to refund or provide them with refunds, and so much more. The list goes on and on and on.”
Hochul also announced that she will soon propose legislation that will impose regulations on “Buy Now Pay Later” companies like PayPal and Affirm, and require the providers to obtain licenses to operate in the state.
The proposal also takes on medical debt and increases medical and disability leave benefits.
“Just missing work to get medical treatment can be enough to break the bank,” said Hochul.
Currently, the maximum benefit for paid medical and disability leave is capped at $170 per week, the same figure it's been capped at for over three decades.
“That defies comprehension,” the governor said. “Does anybody think the cost of living has gone up over the last 35 years?”
The new increase will raise that number by more than seven fold, coming to $1,250 a week.
“That's how you take care of people, lifting them up when life throws a curveball, strengthening the safety net for those who get sick or hurt unexpectedly,” Hochul said. “So they can get better without sacrificing everything they've worked so hard for.”
The proposals also look to challenge medical debt, which affects around 700,000 New Yorkers according to the governor.
“Many people have to sometimes forgo medical care because they know they just can't afford it,” she said. “They live in pain, or they owe hundreds of thousands of dollars they just can't pay back.”
The proposals would update and expand New York’s hospital financial assistance law and will protect low-income New Yorkers from medical debt lawsuits by limiting hospitals’ ability to sue patients earning less than 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, or $120,000 for a family of four.
The governor also announced plans to further help New Yorkers struggling with medical debt by eliminating co-pays for insulin.
“Too many New Yorkers today must overextend their finances to afford critical healthcare, like insulin, and to pay everyday expenses, like rent,” said New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris. “When an individual is forced to choose between the two, deprioritizing their health impacts their lives, their families, and ultimately increases costs across the healthcare system.”
The slate of proposals the governor announced on Tuesday are a preview of the goals she will announce during her State of the State address, which she will give next Tuesday, Jan. 9.
