State Expansions: New York
In April 2007, Governor Spitzer signed state budget legislation into law that expands eligibility for the Child Health Plus program as the first step toward covering all of New York's uninsured children. However, CMS denied New York’s waiver to expand Child Health Plus on the grounds that it violated the Administration’s crowd-out directive. The state is challenging the Administration’s directive in a lawsuit with six other states. New York proceeded with its kids' expansion using state dollars to subsidize coverage for families earning below 400 percent of poverty ($70,400 for a family of three in 2008). Families earning more than 400 percent of poverty can enroll in Child Health Plus by paying the full premium of approximately $156.
In July 2007, Governor Spitzer signed legislation that will allow all businesses to purchase coverage for their employees through Family Health Plus, the state’s public coverage program. The governor also announced a new "partnership for universal coverage," in which the state's Health Commissioner and the Insurance Superintendent will solicit proposals for expanding coverage and hold public hearings throughout the state. The Urban Institute is modeling the effects of several different reform proposals. The Partnership will ultimately examine the results of the modeling and listen to public input to make recommendations to state lawmakers about comprehensive health reform in New York.
New York Expansion Resources
For general resources on state expansions, see Other Resources.
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