'Stay tuned,' Jeffries says of Mamdani endorsement

And who could succeed U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, who's no longer running for reelection.

Good afternoon — it’s Tuesday and V-J Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries signaled Tuesday that he may soon decide if he’ll endorse Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor.

• New York’s insurance regulator released its decision on new health insurance rates for 2026 late Friday.

• Here are the names that have been floated to succeed U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler since his decision to not seek reelection came out Monday night.

• The candidates in the race for a soon-vacant North Country Assembly seat have now been set.

• This Week in New York History: The first Labor Day parade and New York City’s only hurricane.

Names in today’s CapCon: Eric Linzer, Hakeem Jeffries, Kathy Hochul, Zohran Mamdani, Jerry Nadler, Liam Elkind, Micah Lasher, Alex Bores, Tony Simone, Linda B. Rosenthal, Liz Krueger, Billy Jones, Elise Stefanik, Brent Davison, Michael Cashman, Dan Stec

---

(Siqui Sanchez/Getty Images)

❤️‍🩹 Health insurance rates posted by state regulators

You may remember how, last Wednesday, I told you that New York’s new health insurance rates for 2026 would be announced soon.

I suggested at the time that the state’s insurance regulator, the Department of Financial Services, might post them on “a Friday afternoon, maybe even ahead of a holiday weekend,” referring to last Friday before the Labor Day weekend.

I didn’t know at the time that I’d be right. But I was. The agency published the new rates Friday afternoon. CapCon had already gone out for the day by then.

Here’s a link to the requested and approved rates for the individual and small group markets.

Insurers had requested an average increase of 13.5% in the individual market and 24% in the small group market. The agency cut those, approving an average 7.1% increase in the individual market and 13% for the small group market.

Many of the cuts were significant when you isolate them by company. UnitedHealthcare had requested a 36.6% increase in the individual market but the agency reduced that to 9.1%.

Others weren’t significant. CDPHP had requested a 22.2% increase in the small group market, for example, and the agency reduced that to 22.1%.

Altogether, the agency said the approved rates will cost New Yorkers $959 million less than the rates requested by insurers.

Eric Linzer, president and CEO of the New York Health Plan Association, said in a statement that Congress and Hochul should act to reduce the cost of health care and coverage.

“It’s critical that Congress act now to extend the health care tax credits before hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers face significant cost increases,” Linzer said.

“Additionally, the Legislature passed several mandated benefits this session. We urge the governor to reject these proposals to avoid adding to the cost of coverage,” he added.

I poked through those bills to see what was passed. The new requirements for health insurers that lawmakers approved include coverage of speech therapy for stuttering, scalp cooling systems to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy and follow-up lung cancer screenings.

Hochul has already signed the scalp cooling bill.

---

More from the Times Union (Free for CapCon Subscribers):

Justice Department asks judge to declare NY Superfund Act illegal

As Amtrak unveils new Acela trains, high-speed rail eludes Albany

Utility bills continue rising across New York amid renewable push

$7,500 rebate for electric cars is ending, a challenge for NY climate goals

NY launches program pairing kids’ books with 10 state parks

Victims of abuse tied to Albany diocese get to tell their stories

There’s a lot to watch in politics. This section gives you a quick look at news on elections that might interest you.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

☑️ Jeffries says ‘stay tuned’ on Mamdani endorsement

Many Democrats that remained neutral or supported a different candidate during the primary for New York City mayor this year have since rallied around the person who won that race: Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

But some Democrats haven’t yet endorsed Mamdani amid what they’ve viewed as a political minefield surrounding the self-proclaimed socialist.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is one of those Democrats, though she hasn’t been critical of Mamdani. She’s said she wants Mamdani to fix his relationship with business leaders and the Jewish community.

But another prominent Democrat who’s held off on endorsing in the race is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents a Brooklyn district.