Coverage Resource Center
Too many New Yorkers go without health insurance: 900,000 uninsured New Yorkers are eligible for public health insurance coverage; another 1.3 million are uninsured but do not qualify for public coverage and most likely cannot afford private insurance. The reasons for uninsurance are as varied as the State’s population. Some people do not know about the availability of insurance programs. Others do not know they are eligible. Still other individuals are reluctant to accept public benefits, or have difficulty completing the paperwork and enrollment process. For everyone, the cost of insurance is high and rising.
When people are uninsured they do not seek preventive care that might help them avoid medical problems or keep a small health problem from becoming a large one. Aware that they cannot afford to pay for care out-of-pocket, they do not get proper and timely health care. By the time they finally seek help, the care they receive is more complicated, costly, and often less effective. Health care providers, whether emergency departments or community clinics, bear the burden of this delay and the higher unreimbursed costs of delivering care.
Expanding health insurance coverage for New Yorkers is vital to individual health, community health, and the health care system itself. Whether you are a health care service provider, researcher, State policymaker, or consumer--especially one of the 2.4 million New Yorkers without health coverage--this NYSHealth online resource provides helpful, reliable information, including links to organizations that are working to expand health insurance coverage in New York.
Click on the topics below for more information.
- Facts and Figures
- Important Publications
- Organizations Working to Improve Health Insurance Coverage in New York
- Public and Private Insurance Initiatives
Features
The Rockefeller Institute of Government released this NYSHealth funded report on small-group insurance market reforms. Please click here to read more.
The United Hospital Fund reported in March 2008 that Medicaid enrollment increased by 46% between 2000 and 2007, and currently covers 4.1 million New Yorkers. Please click here to read more.
Continuing its reporting on health insurance issues affecting New Yorkers, the United Hospital Fund (UHF) has released a data update on Offer, Eligibility, and Take-up Rates of Employer-Sponsored Coverage in New York, 2005. Please click here to read more.
In the News
"Employers Offer Workers Fewer Health Care Plans ." New York Times, November 14, 2008.
"Senators Hurry to keep Health Care in Forefront." Washington Post, November 12, 2008.
