New York Health Insurance

How healthy is living in New York?

New York climbed one spot higher – from 26th to 25th – in the 2008 ranking of the healthiest states by the United Health Foundation.

The good news:

• Although the Empire State has one of the lowest rankings (43rd) for high school graduation, the rate of graduation improved in 2008, with 65.3 percent of incoming freshman graduating within four years – up from 60.9 percent in 2007.
• The rate of violent crime declined, extending a trend since 1990, when the rate was more than double the 2008 measurement of 414 offenses per 100,000 population.
• The infant mortality rate is also on the decline since 1990, falling 47 percent – from 10.7 to 5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The bad news:

• New York's measurement for the prevalence of obesity is on the rise. In 2008, 25.5 percent of the population was classified as obese, compared to 22.9 percent in 2007 – and 9.8 percent in 1990.
• The state had the nation's worst rating for infectious disease, with 39.3 cases of major infectious diseases per 100,000 population, compared to a national average of 20.1 cases.

The state's best and worst category rankings:

• Geographic disparity – 1st
• Number of primary care physicians – 3rd
• Occupational fatalities – 8th
• Immunization coverage – 9th
• Cancer deaths – 9th
• Public health funding – 10th
• Infant mortality – 10th
• Premature death – 10th
• Children (under 18) in poverty – 40th
• Infectious disease – 50th

See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on New York.

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Does New York have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

New York does not have a state risk pool. The state has guaranteed-issue meaning all citizens will be accepted at the same premium regardless of their health. Thus New Yorkers are lucky to have access to health insurance that is much better than a risk pool (which almost always charges a higher-than-the-going-rate because it is made up of uninsurable people).

Risk pools are state-sponsored programs to help people with a history of medical problems in their family to purchase coverage. These pools are for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but are not able to get underwritten in the private market because of a pre-existing health condition. These programs can vary significantly from state-to-state in price, benefits and number of people served. Often insurance companies doing business in the state are required to contribute to the poolto keep it in the black. In the best cases they allow people to be able to switch jobs or become self-employed without the fear of losing their health insurance coverage. Find more on risk pools here.

Mini-meds a guaranteed-issue option for those who are medically uninsurable

An option for the medically uninsurable is a guaranteed-issue mini-med health insurance plan. There is no underwriting and no health questions are asked.

These plans provide basic coverage but are not designed to help with catastrophic expenses. They can often count as creditable coverage, eliminating the waiting period for pre-existing conditions if you later move to an employer-based plan. Read more here.

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Cover The Uninsured's guide on finding health insurance in New York

Cover The Uninsured is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders. Read more information on its efforts. It is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

• Cover The Uninsured's facts on the uninsured in New York and all other states.
• Its guide on how to find health insurance in New York.
• Materiales En Español – Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

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USNews health insurance rankings for New York

US News does an annual ranking of what it considers the best health insurance plans in each state. Visit its reports on various health insurance or medical insurance plans being offered in New York.

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Official State Goverment Sites with New York Health Insurance Information

New York State Government Health Insurance Information -- a long list of links to information published by the State of New York regarding health insurance and health care topics.

New York State Child Health Plus -- New York State has a health insurance plan for kids, called Child Health Plus. Depending on your family's income, your child may be eligible to join either Children's Medicaid or Child Health Plus .

Medicaid in New York State -- works in partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to assist in providing quality medical care for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and limited resources.

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Health Care Advocacy Groups in New York

Community Service Society of New York – is committed to the goal of universal health coverage as the most fair and efficient method of achieving positive health outcomes for individuals and the greater community. In an effort to achieve this goal, CSS has launched a comprehensive campaign to provide access to affordable, quality health care coverage to the nearly 2.5 million New Yorkers who lack health insurance. Working with local partners, our aim is to build public will and advocate for significant government support to ensure that a plan for universal health coverage is in place by 2010.

Health Care for All New York – the statewide Consumer Voices for Coverage project seeking to achieve a commitment to provide affordable and comprehensive health coverage to all New Yorkers by 2010. The project’s strategy is to develop a set of standards that puts all universal health coverage proposals through rigorous scrutiny, providing an easily digestible comparison scorecard for both consumers and policymakers.

New York State Health Foundation – is an organization devoted to expanding health insurance coverage, increasing access to high-quality health care services, and improving public and community health. NYSHealth was established by the State of New York with charitable funds from the privatization of Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield.