Albany, NY – Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D–New Rochelle) announced today that her bill, A.957/S.1224, has passed both houses of the New York State Legislature — securing a major win for children’s health and ensuring that School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) can continue to deliver essential care across the state. The bill will permanently allow SBHCs to operate outside of the Medicaid Managed Care system, maintaining their financial viability and protecting access to healthcare for hundreds of thousands of New York students.

A core component of that care is dental. “We are in the middle of a dental care access crisis in New York,” said Paulin. “One in six New Yorkers struggles to access dental services — and that figure is likely much higher for low-income children. Without SBHCs, many of these children would have no access to dental care at all.”

SBHCs serve over 250,000 students in rural, urban, and suburban schools, providing no-cost physical, mental, chronic, and dental health services directly on-site. These clinics remove barriers such as transportation, scheduling, and affordability — and often represent the only reliable source of care for uninsured or underinsured children.

"School-Based Health Centers are not only free—they’re in school, and that convenience matters. We’re meeting kids where they are and removing every barrier to healthcare,” said Paulin. “These centers are often the only source of medical or dental attention for children in poverty, and we cannot let bureaucracy or budget cuts take that away.”

For nearly four decades, SBHCs have been reimbursed through a fee-for-service model, carved out of Medicaid Managed Care. But repeated efforts by the Department of Health to eliminate the carve-out would force these centers into the managed care system—where lower reimbursements, prior authorization requirements, and administrative red tape could lead to clinic closures.

Other states’ experiences support staying with the fee-for-service model. When Florida made the shift to a Medicaid Managed Care model, a JAMA Health Forum report demonstrated this led to an increase in the number of pediatric emergency room visits for dental conditions. Further, Arkansas recently announced the state would end their Medicaid managed care dental program and return to a fee-for-service model, explaining the fee-for-service model is both the best and most cost-effective option.

“Protecting access to healthcare for our children is a top priority that must never be compromised,” Paulin added. “If we lose the fee-for-service model, we lose the guarantee of care. And when it comes to dental health, that gap can mean pain, infection, and missed school— things we can absolutely prevent.”

State Senator Gustavo Rivera (D–Bronx), who sponsored the Senate companion bill, agreed: “I'm incredibly proud that our bill to permanently carve out School-Based Health Centers from Medicaid Managed Care has passed the Legislature. These centers provide comprehensive healthcare to approximately 250,000 children mostly in underserved communities across the State and transitioning them into managed care would force some of them to close their doors. I urge the Governor to stop pursuing this unpopular transition, sign this bill into law, and save these centers. Our children deserve it.”

Advocates, educators, healthcare professionals—including the New York State Dental Association—and community leaders across New York have voiced overwhelming opposition to the transition and are urging the Governor to sign A.957/S.1224.

"The New York State School-Based Health Alliance, on behalf of the over 250 School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) across the state, their dedicated health care staff, the children and families served are grateful to Assembly and Senate Health Committee Chairs and champions Amy Paulin and Gustavo Rivera who continue to make SBHCs a priority. As we watch healthcare rights and access erode across the country, it is imperative that our state remains laser- focused on sustaining existing quality and accessible care for our children of all identities through safety net programs like school-based health centers. We strongly urge Governor Hochul to sign A.957/S.1224 to make the current SBHC Medicaid managed care carve out permanent," said Sarah Murphy, Executive Director of NYSBHA. SBHCs need a permanent carve out of managed care, so they may remain in Medicaid fee-for-service, allowing their time, staff efforts and resources to be exclusively focused on providing healthcare for children in our most urban and rural underserved communities."

“School Based Health Centers are a trusted and essential source of care for children across New York. These centers already operate with limited resources and face ongoing financial instability. Moving them into managed care would only add administrative complexity and threaten their ability to serve students. CHCANYS thanks our legislative champions for protecting SBHCs by supporting a permanent carve-out that ensures their sustainability and ability to meet the health needs of New York’s children,” said Rose Duhan, President and CEO of CHCANYS.

“The state has repeatedly recognized the importance of keeping school-based health clinics out of Medicaid managed care by delaying the transition. It is high time this carve-out be made permanent,” said Bea Grause, RN, JD, president, Healthcare Association of New York State. “HANYS urges Governor Hochul to sign A.957/S.1224, which will allow SBHCs to focus their limited resources on providing our most vulnerable youth access to the care they need and deserve. We thank Assemblymember Paulin and Senator Rivera, our esteemed Assembly and Senate health committee chairs, for their leadership on this important issue.”

School-based health centers, including those operated by GNYHA member hospitals, provide critical primary care services to underserved public school children across the State. These services are provided at no cost to families regardless of their immigration status. The State must protect SBHCs and their patients by permanently carving SBHCs out of Medicaid managed care, saving these critical safety net clinics from costly administrative burdens that would provide little to no benefit for the children they serve. GNYHA urges the Governor to sign this legislation into law to prevent SBHC service reductions and closures," said Chatodd Floyd, JD, Senior Vice President, Legislative Affairs, Greater New York Hospital Association.

“As a school-based dental provider serving over 100,000 low-income students each year, we strongly support Assemblywoman Paulin's and Senator Rivera’s legislation to permanently safeguard school-based health centers from being defunded. Every day in New York, children miss school, cannot eat, and fall behind simply because they lack access to basic dental care. For many of these children, our program, which transforms classrooms into dental clinics, is the only place where they can receive treatment, relief, and find a reason to smile again,” said Smile NY Outreach. “If school-based health centers are defunded, we are not just cutting a budget line— we are closing the door on a lifeline for nearly 300,000 underserved students who rely on these services for their health, confidence, and future.”

“School-Based Health Centers ensure that New York’s youth have access to quality healthcare regardless of their zip code. They keep kids healthy and reduce costly visits to hospitals. We commend Assemblywoman Paulin and State Senator Rivera for their leadership, and urge Governor Hochul to sign this critical legislation,” said 1199SEIU Interim Political Director Helen Schaub.

“This is about health equity,” said Paulin. “SBHCs reduce disparities, improve attendance and academic performance, prevent unnecessary emergency room visits, and provide critical medical and dental care to children who would otherwise go without. With this legislation, we’re protecting a system that works—and making sure our most vulnerable children don’t fall through the cracks.”