NYSNA Members Advocate for Healthcare Justice at 2026 Lobby Day

Nurses at the Capitol

On Tuesday, March 10, NYSNA members from across New York State made the trip to Albany for our annual Lobby Day! Members made sure that elected officials heard nurses’ and healthcare workers’ voices with a press conference for safe, quality patient care at noon and a day of meetings with legislators. This year, members are calling on the state to protect New Yorkers and:

• Ensure that all New Yorkers have high-quality healthcare.  
• Raise revenues to fund healthcare.  
• Improve safe staffing levels and enforcement of our state’s staffing laws.  
• Protect nursing practice standards and patient safety.  
• Fix Tier 6. 

Speaking at the rally, NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “Federal attacks on healthcare will strip coverage from more than a million New Yorkers. But New York State has the opportunity to step in and do the right thing to safeguard care by ensuring that your care is not determined by your ZIP code, nationality, gender identity and more. The moment to take action is now!”  

Fix Tier 6

On the Sunday before Lobby Day, March 8, public sector nurses also made the trip to Albany to call on state legislators to fix Tier 6, the retirement plan for New York State’s public employees who joined the program after April 2012. NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, as a featured speaker, addressed the thousands of public sector union members from multiple unions who gathered to demand Albany Fix Tier 6. Tier 6 makes enrollees pay into the program for their entire careers at higher rates than previous tiers and prevents enrollees from retiring before age 63 without facing heavy penalties. This system leads to significantly reduced pensions, and as such, disincentivizes New Yorkers—including nurses—from working in the public sector.

In light of federal attacks on healthcare funding, now more than ever legislators must do everything possible to help public sector hospitals recruit and retain enough nurses to safely care for the New Yorkers who need it most!

What’s Next?

With the 2026 legislative running through June, NYSNA members will continue to demand that our elected officials prioritize spending and policies that improve access to quality healthcare for all new Yorkers. Cuts to healthcare funding by the Trump administration are set to strip nearly 1 million New Yorkers of their healthcare coverage this year, and legislators must act now. Only by enacting policies and passing legislation that prioritize safe, quality patient care—for all New Yorkers, regardless of gender identity or immigration status—can New York State meet the needs of our working families.