New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani launched an outreach team to help New Yorkers keep their Medicaid and SNAP benefits as federal work requirements put up to 900,000 residents at risk of losing health coverage.

The Health and Affordability Resource Team (HART) is funded by a $3 million investment in the fiscal year 2027 budget, the mayor's office and the NYC Health Department said in a press release on Monday.

What HART Will Do

HART is staffed by trained community health workers who speak 13 languages, with support from community organizations and volunteers. They will help residents enroll in and maintain coverage, access food assistance and cash benefits, secure housing and eviction prevention support, and obtain relief from hospital bills.

The team will focus on neighborhoods with residents most likely to be affected, including New Yorkers who have already lost SNAP benefits, the release said. New federal Medicaid work requirements begin Jan. 1, 2027, with New York applying them to existing enrollees at renewal beginning March 1.

"While the federal government cuts taxes for the ultrawealthy by gutting essential services like SNAP and Medicaid, our administration is bringing help directly into communities," Mamdani said.

Mamdani Spotlights HART on X

Mamdani posted on X on Monday: "Navigating changes to Medicaid and SNAP shouldn't mean navigating a maze to get help. Today, we're launching HART, a new outreach team helping New Yorkers keep their health coverage, food benefits and get support on everything from housing assistance to eviction prevention. As federal work requirements put thousands at risk of losing benefits and up to 900,000 New Yorkers at risk of losing health coverage, we're making sure no one gets left behind."

Federal Changes Already Taking Hold

The Medicaid rules require certain enrollees ages 19 to 64 to complete at least 80 hours a month of work, education, volunteer service or other approved activities, unless exempt.

Nebraska became the first state to implement the requirements, beginning May 1, ahead of the Jan. 1, 2027 federal deadline. The state's Medicaid director had projected that roughly 200 people could lose coverage in the first renewal wave in August, although that was an estimate rather than a final count.

A separate change requires states to begin redetermining Medicaid expansion eligibility every six months by Dec. 31, 2026, instead of annually. The Urban Institute estimated the shift could push 2 million to 3.1 million people out of the program by 2028.