New York, NY | by Katie Honan | August 14, 2019
Original article can be found at: https://www.wsj.com/
New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson unveiled a health-care plan that would expand a program Mayor Bill de Blasio recently launched to reduce emergency-room visits at public hospitals and provide services for the uninsured.
Mr. Johnson, as well as Councilman Mark Levine and Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, all Democrats, introduced a bill during a Wednesday council meeting that would require the city to create a new health-access program that would help the uninsured and fund primary-care providers.
City residents who have insurance but may have difficulty understanding the health-care system also could access the program’s services, the three council members said.
The bill comes a few weeks after the official launch of NYC Care, which Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, described as a universal health-care program.
The mayor’s program mostly expands a primary-care system for the city’s neediest residents. It launched Aug. 1 in the Bronx and will expand across the city in the future.
NYC Care participants have access to services such as 24/7 on-call service and appointments with a primary-care doctor. That program, which isn’t insurance, costs the city about $100 million a year.
It is expected to serve roughly 300,000 people who are ineligible for insurance, including undocumented and poor people.
There isn’t a full analysis of what the council members’ program would cost, but they believe they can achieve their goals using some of the $100 million allocated to Mr. de Blasio’s plan.
Much of the money would help fund community-based health centers, according to the council members.
Expanding the new services to these centers would improve access for residents who don’t reside near city-run hospitals, the council members said.
And tapping into the network of hundreds of community health centers also would provide more comprehensive services, they said.
The council members couldn’t immediately say exactly how many people their program would serve.
“This bill would create a health-care access program that goes beyond the Health+Hospitals system and connects anyone who participates in it with a coordinated, personalized care service in their communities,” Mr. Johnson said.
The legislation also would require the city provide “patient navigators” that could help people coordinate their medical services and understand ways to save money on treatment, medication, and other programs, even if a patient has insurance.
Ms. Rivera, who chairs the council’s committee on hospitals, said in a statement that primary-care access is essential “but far too many New Yorkers, from undocumented immigrants to the under or uninsured, feel they are forced to use the emergency room if they have any sort of medical condition.”
Ms. Rivera introduced another measure on Wednesday calling on the city to create a patient-advocate office.
The bill sponsored by Mr. Johnson, Mr. Levine and Ms. Rivera would have to pass through multiple committees and be signed into law by Mr. de Blasio, who has used NYC Care as part of his platform in his 2020 presidential campaign.
Avery Cohen, a spokeswoman for Mr. de Blasio, said the administration would review the proposal.
“We share the goal of guaranteeing primary care to every New Yorker who needs it,” she said in a statement.
Mr. Levine, who is chair of the council’s health committee, said the new legislation could create something new or just push for NYC Care to expand to more facilities.
“What this does is creates a welcoming front door into primary care that we believe will create safe spaces for undocumented immigrants to get their annual physicals, and get their vaccinations and referrals to specialists,” he said.
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