Instead of Waiting for Washington to Act on Health Care, New York City Becomes First Local Government in the Nation to Offer Online Help to Individuals and Small Business Owners.

Mayor Bloomberg today unveiled the New York City Health Insurance Link, a new web-based tool to help New Yorkers find a health insurance plan that best fits their healthcare needs and budgets. The tool is available at www.NYC.gov and is targeted to small business owners, freelancers and other independent or unemployed workers who do not currently have health insurance coverage or are shopping for more affordable coverage.

With NYC Health Insurance Link, uninsured small businesses, individuals, and freelancers can search for and compare all different kinds of health plans, including those with low- and high deductibles; those with and without particular benefits like prescription drugs; and those with open and closed provider networks. The tool provides users with a full range of comprehensive health plans available in the City from every carrier-including plans available through specialized purchasing alliances and Healthy New York products. Healthy New York is a state-subsidized program designed to assist small businesses, sole proprietors and uninsured individuals gain access to more affordable private health insurance coverage. All HMOs in New York are required to offer a Healthy New York product. 

Unlike other web-based health insurance search engines, NYC Health Insurance Link is unbiased, not favoring any one plan over another, and is designed to educate consumers and respond to the questions they may ask as they look for the right plan.  NYC Health Insurance Link also has the flexibility to adapt to future federal and state health care reforms.

When basic business information, such as the number of employees to be covered, preferred benefits and other information is entered, NYC Health Insurance Link generates a list of possible health plans and provides a direct comparison of the costs and benefits of each. Users can also use a premium calculator on the website to vary their contribution amounts, and to determine the best premium contribution they can afford to offer their employees. For individuals, sole proprietors and their families, NYC Health Insurance Link asks basic information about household size, income, and work status to help them determine whether public health insurance may be an option as well as show them private health insurance plans.

Some New York State Consumer Protections

• Unlike many other parts of the country, in New York health insurance options do not depend on your health status, age, or any other factor that might predict the use of health services by you or your employees. Instead, your ability to get health insurance is dependent on your being an individual residing or a business operating in New York State and your ability to pay the premium. This protection is called guaranteed issue.

• In addition, your health plan cannot be cancelled because you get sick or submit a lot of claims. This is called guaranteed renewability.

• The premium your health insurance carrier charges cannot depend on your or your employees’ health status, age, gender, occupation or pre-existing conditions. Instead, premiums are based on the average cost of offering coverage to all individuals seeking the same plan from the same insurer in the same geographic area. This is called community rating.

New York Consumer Guide to Health Insurers (www.ins.state.ny.us/hgintro.htm).

Visit Health Insurance Link

Courtesy of: Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, The Corcoran Group