Today Governor Paterson proposed to extend a COBRA-like insurance benefit to young people up to the age of 29 through the parent’s policies.  HCFANY had supported this concept thus far.

 However, the poison pill in the Governor’s version of our proposal seeks to “age rate” these young  people, a dangerous move for New York’s health insurance consumers. 

States that permit age rating allow insurers to prioritize profits over people, by offering cheap policies to young people, but expensive policies to those of us who are 30 and older.  New York is one of the few states that has “pure community rating” which means that all of us must be treated the same by an insurance company, no matter our age or disability.

The Governor also failed to mention that his budget proposes to increase Child Health Plus premiums, imposing further burdens on New York’s working families.