Sen. Gustavo Rivera and Queens Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas have introduced Senate Bill S9906 and Assembly Bill A10692, which would eliminate the cost of asthma inhalers, including copayment, coinsurance and deductibles related to them for New Yorkers with asthma.

In recent months, some companies have committed to cap the cost of asthma inhalers at $35, but residents who have asthma say even that can be too expensive. Other inhalers run price tags that charge over $600.

According to the New York State Asthma Board, Bronx County had twice the rate of asthma emergency room visits, compared to the rest of the city on average between 2019 and 2021. Environmental justice advocates say this is in part because of a domino effect: when highways and industrial plants are built in Black and brown neighborhoods, they create pollution in those neighborhoods. That then makes the air quality bad to breathe, especially in times of extreme weather events like this year’s heat waves or 2023’s Canadian wildfire smoke. The people who live in those neighborhoods then have negative health outcomes such as asthma.

Celeste Perez was diagnosed with asthma at 12 years old and grew up across the street from a power plant in Co-op City. Her experience with asthma inspired her as an adult in her work as a state climate policy manager with NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. She says her inhalers cost $100 each month. Perez says high inhaler costs can force New Yorkers to make tough choices.

“People may use their inhalers less even though they desperately need it. And that is a really, really dangerous position for people to be in,” Perez said. “We know that the most environmentally burdened communities are low income communities of color … So, all of those things are very much connected and impact not only people's quality of life, but their ability to have things that should be basic human rights like clean air.”

The would-be law is currently in Senate committees and will be reviewed when the next legislative session begins in January.