This Sunday, March 22, 2009 from 2-4 PM, the Association of Muslim Health Professionals is holding a health care forum. HCFANY members Elisabeth Benjamin, Director of Health Care Restructuring Initiatives at the Community Service Society; Mark Hannay, Director, Metro New York Health Care For All Campaign; and Elizabeth Swain, CEO of the Community Health Care Association of New York State will present.
Today, Families USA released a fact sheet– “New Yorkers Without Health Insurance“– highlighting that 77.2% of uninsured New Yorkers are part of working families. These findings piggy-back on a earlier report “Americans at Risk: One in Three Uninsured,” which provided a picture of how many Americas did not have health insurance in 2007-2008.
A teleconference featuring Ron Pollack, Director, Families USA and Elisabeth Benjamin, Director of Health Care Restructuring Initiatives at the Community Service Society-a HCFANY member organization discussed the New York findings.
Governor Seeks to Offer COBRA Relief to Small Business Employees
Governor David A. Paterson submitted a bill to ensure that New Yorkers laid off by small businesses can qualify for federal benefits that pay up to 65% of Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) health insurance premiums. The subsidy, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), is available to individuals who were laid off on or after September 1, 2008. A change in State law is needed so that all eligible workers laid off by small businesses can access the subsidized coverage. Read the Governor’s press statement.
New COBRA Report Issued by UHF
COBRA gives workers and their families who lose their health benefits the right to choose to continue health benefits provided by their group health plan for limited periods of time under certain circumstances. For a good explanation of federal COBRA rules, and the State’s mini-COBRA statute, see a new report issued by the United Hospital Fund.
HCFANY Renews Call For State COBRA Extension to 36 Months
HCFANY’s legislative agenda has also called upon the Governor to further expand COBRA coverage for New Yorkers who lose employment to 36 months, beyond the current 18-month limit. California has already enacted such a provision through its CAL-COBRA program. Read more here: HCFANY’s Economic Crisis Coverage agenda.
On March 5, 2009, President Obama opened the White House Health Care Summit with the following statement: “Health care reform is no longer just a moral imperative, it is a fiscal imperative… Our goal will be to enact comprehensive health care reform by the end of this year. That is our commitment. That is our goal. The status quo is the one option that is not on the table. And those who seek to block any reform at any cost will not prevail this time around.”
The Summit convened more than 150 participants, including members of Congress, doctors and leaders of labor unions, business groups, hospitals, insurance companies and consumer organizations.
Read what participants said:
Dr. Oliver Fien, Physicians for a Nation Health Plan
Ron Pollack, Executive Director, Families USA
Nancy Nielsen M.D., President, American Medical Association