Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes the New York Health plan, a comprehensive system of access to health insurance for residents.

Highlights:

• Establishes the New York Health program, a comprehensive system of access to health insurance for every New York resident, regardless of age, income, wealth, employment, or other status (Sec. 5101).

• Prohibits the plan from having network restrictions, deductibles, or copays (Sec. 5105).

• Requires benefits to include comprehensive outpatient and inpatient medical care, primary and preventive care, prescription drugs, lab tests, rehabilitative, dental, vision, and hearing (Sec. 5104).

• Specifies that the required coverage would be the same as the benefits required by current state insurance law or provided by the state public employee package, Medicare, or Medicaid (Sec. 5104).

• Authorizes coverage for services when a member is out of state, either because health care is needed while traveling or because there is a clinical reason for going to a particular out-of-state provider (Sec. 5100).

• Requires the state’s health department to develop a plan to implement long-term care coverage within 2 years of the bill’s passage (Sec. 5102).

• Specifies that this bill does not create any employment benefit, nor does it require, prohibit, or limit the providing of any employment benefit (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the New York Health Trust Fund solely to finance the plan (Sec. 5109).

• Specifies that federal funds now received for Medicare, Medicaid, Family Health and Children’s Health Plus would be combined with the state revenue in the new fund (Sec. 5109).

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes the New York Health plan, a comprehensive system of access to health insurance for residents.

Highlights:

• Establishes that every New York resident would be eligible to enroll in state health insurance regardless of age, income, wealth, employment or other status (Sec. 1).  

• Authorises New York Health to cover services when a member is out of state (Sec. 1)

• Establishes a broadly representative Board of Trustees to advise the Commissioner of Health and develop proposals relating to retiree health benefits and coverage of health care services under the workers’ compensation law (Sec. 1).

• Establishes 6 regional advisory councils to adopt community health improvement plants to promote healthcare access and quality in each region (Sec. 1)

• Establishes a plan to develop alternative payment methods to replace old-style fee-for-service and negotiate rates with health care provider organizations (Sec. 1)

• Specifies that the new health plan would be paid for based on the ability to pay, through a progressively-graduated payroll-based premium and a progressively-graduated premium based on other taxable income, such as capital gains, interest and dividends (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that the funds received for Medicare, Medicaid, Family Health and Child Health Plus would be combined with the state revenue in a New York Health Trust Fund (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text