Reducing the Number of Uninsured 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 2.7 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
- Initiatives and Policies Addressing Health Insurance Coverage
Features
The Economic Impact of Healthcare Reform on New York's Small Businesses
Inaction on health care reform represents the worst case scenario for New York State's small businesses, according to this NYSHealth-funded, Small Business Majority report. The report examines four scenarios: two shared responsibility, one market reform, and one single payer, in comparison to allowing current trends to continue. Click here to read the full study.
Enroll NY: New York's Online Finder of State-Sponsored Health Insurance
Hudson Center for Health Equity & Quality developed an easy-to-use Web site that allows individuals and families to learn if they may qualify for public health insurance. The Web site connects those who may qualify with a facilitated enroller who can answer their questions and help them enroll. Please click here to visit www.EnrollNY.org. To read more about this grant click here.
In the News
"Novel health plans try to help uninsured" USA Today, March 16, 2010
"With Medicaid Cuts, Doctors and Patients Drop Out" The New York Times, March 15, 2010
"State Insurance Experts See Flaw in Obama’s Plan to Curb Health Premiums" The New York Times, March 8, 2010
