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State of the State Address 2008
“We cannot wait while children who suffer from asthma and diabetes go untreated. We will not wait while, tonight, some children in this very city go to the emergency room for illnesses that could have been prevented if they had a regular family doctor...Not on my watch. Not on our watch...In my upcoming Executive Budget, I will propose that New York State fully fund the expansion of our children’s health insurance program. There will be affordable coverage for every single child in this State.”
-Governor Eliot Spitzer (January 9, 2008)
The Challenge
- There are 400,000 uninsured children in New York State. Two-thirds are currently eligible for Medicaid or Child Health Plus.
- Last year, the Governor and Legislature proposed to expand children’s access to health care by allowing subsidized coverage under Child Health Plus for children from families with income up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level – which would make health insurance accessible to all 400,000 children. The current eligibility limit is 250 percent of the federal poverty level.
- The Bush Administration blocked the proposed expansion of New York’s version of the federal program, Child Health Plus.
Our Approach
- The Governor’s Executive Budget will include full funding for the planned expansion of Child Health Plus, which will provide access to health insurance coverage for all of the 400,000 uninsured children in New York State.
- State support will be provided, along with an increase in family contributions tied to income level, to fully fund the planned expansion of Child Health Plus from 250 percent to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.
- The Department of Health is streamlining enrollment and renewal procedures to ensure that eligible individuals are able to get and keep coverage under Child Health Plus, Medicaid and Family Health Plus.
- For More Information on Child Health Plus, visit: http://www.nyhealth.gov
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