New York – With New York’s Medicaid coverage already broader than federal law requires, the state expects to add about 75,000 more people to the program next year under the health care overhaul, plus another 425,000 who are already eligible but don’t know it.
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Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, currently covers 5.1 million New Yorkers, more than one-fourth of the state’s residents. The income threshold to qualify for most programs is already above the federal poverty line.
“There are 1 million who are eligible but not enrolled. The hope is that roughly half will come in as a result of the new welcome mat effect,” said Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president for health initiatives at the Community Service Society of New York, an advocacy group.
Separately, New York plans to begin enrollment Oct. 1 in a new health insurance marketplace known as an exchange. That’s expected to enroll another 1.1 million New Yorkers who have no health insurance but make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. They would pay premiums and could qualify for subsidies depending on their income. The exchange is expected to reduce costs that individuals pay for insurance.
New York officials are putting together a marketing plan to help increase the number of residents who have insurance coverage. They expect to sign up more than half of the 2.7 million uninsured among the state’s 19 million residents.
Benjamin said New York probably has the best public health insurance programs in the U.S., including Child Health Plus, now available to all its children under age 19. It won’t change.
The program provides health coverage on a sliding fee scale up to 400 percent of the federal poverty line, with full premiums after that at about $150 a month. Health Department officials estimate 90 percent of New York children have coverage.
The 2010 federal Affordable Care Act calls for expanding Medicaid eligibility and establishing state insurance exchanges with help from federal subsidies.
New York now provides Medicaid for single adults up to the poverty line, about $12,000 a year for an individual. That will rise in 2014 and is expected to add 75,000 people to the program.
Under Family Health Plus, its Medicaid-expansion program, the state now covers parents up to 150 percent of the poverty line, or $37,000 for a family of three. That is expected to drop to 138 percent next year as that program ends, but a Cuomo administration proposal will grandfather in about 36,000 adults enrolled at the higher threshold.
Benjamin said there are probably another 36,000 people in that income group who are not enrolled and who could be left out next year.
“The big issue is affordability,” where the insurance exchange may still be too expensive for lower-income residents in this high-cost state, she said.
At the same time, New York is expected to get up to $2.5 billion more in federal reimbursement for the overhaul.
Total federal, state and county Medicaid spending is tentatively budgeted to rise from nearly $54 billion this year to $57.6 billion for the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Its difficult to understand why people who qualify for government subsidies sometimes fail to take advantage of them but its the responsibility of government to go out and publicize these programs and assure that all impediments are removed to people getting the assistance they need.
What a bunch of asinine dumb liberals. Why not get govt out of our way so the economy could improve thus the private sector creating more jobs so these people could work instead of being on the dole.
This report is quite amazing, over 50 billion a year for health system alone….I think the entire Canada does not spend this kind of money for their whole country……..and the UK were its abit more advanced then Canada in terms of their spending limits, I doubt they spend this kind of money, so lets say here in the US its the most modern and the best health care , but does it need to have such a price tag ? it seems that too many companies are making the money in between ……when you walk in to any doctors office for a regular ankle surgery they will chrge you from 7k-30k!, and in UK the most best private doctor , will charge for the same surgery tops 5k, and it isnt even such a health complicated issue, just a regular half hour surgery. so this over 50 billion a year is way way way far too much overspend.
America…………….so much money for 1 state for health care, does this not turn on a flash light saying something is wrong with this system
Health system , with Obama care or without, this seems so well over estimated, these kinds of moneis spend each and every year
57 Billion per year , can you please calculate for me (as my calculator cant cope with these figures) 57 billion dollars divide in to 19 million people, how much comes out costs per each person??????
what is the cheshbon……………….
Let’s put EVERYONE on welfare. This is great. No one has to pay for anything! Let the government just print money and take care of all of us. Please help the government find all the eligible, whether they need it or not. Nobody should have to work again. My wife and I are quitting our jobs and going on the dole.
If you sum up , when an elderly women goes to a doctor for regular check up
1) the ambulette company, who picks her up, charges
2) she takes along her live in social/nurse worker , which charges too
3)the doctor charges , for check up , and pescribes her that its good she should get a flu shot.
4) the actual shot cost money
5) some kind of Mologist , orlogy bla bal , charges to give her inn the shot,
6) she goes back in doctors room to check if its all ok
7)she gets a ride back home with the ambulette company
8) the social worker or live in nurse goes along..
so this simple check up visit which costs in Cnanda or in the UK not more then 30-40 dollars , costs in the US some 300-400 dollars ……belive it or not
The entire welfare system needs to be overhauled. It doesn’t allow for anyone to even attempt to get off it. The minute you try to get a job at minimum wage, just to feel productive you lose all your benefits. So it doesn’t make economic sense to do so. Once you are on welfare you are stuck! The welfare system should encourage people to get off by having a sliding scale benefit to ease people off the system. They should still be eligible for benefits until the job they have affords them benefits on their own and ease off the system as they earn more money. Does it make sense that welfare gives them more money and benefits than a job does?
Everyone on welfare should be encouraged to find a job and when they do, their welfare benefits should be adjusted according to how much their job pays them. They shouldn’t lose ALL their benefits. This helps the citizens, the economy and the burden on the government!!! But welfare recipients can’t do that, because that is NOT how the system works and so they make more staying in the system than getting off!