Hope for 400,000 Uninsured New Yorkers in Obama Recovery Plan
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
New York, NY — President Barack Obama is expected to take quick action that could help hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who have no health insurance. He has designated health care as one of the big-ticket items in his economic recovery plan.
Governor David Paterson had already proposed extending benefits to 400,000 uninsured New Yorkers, and
Gwen O'Shea with the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island says Paterson's plan is now closer to reality.
"Individuals who are uninsured would be more likely to receive coverage, and so those dollars that the federal government would provide to the states would make it possible for New York to expand those programs."
Under Obama's plan, some medium-sized and large employers that don't currently offer health insurance would pay a tax to help pay for coverage for those who are currently uninsured. Opponents of the idea say it would hurt many already-struggling employers.
O'Shea says a recovery plan that includes tax rebates to low and middle income New Yorkers will make a major difference to communities across the state and on Long Island.
"We know that they are going to reinvest those dollars almost immediately back into the local economy. That of course is what we need to see now, knowing that tax revenues in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties are down more than 20 percent. That's the biggest drop we've seen in decades."
A recent Kaiser Foundation poll found that Americans ranked reforming health care as a top priority, coming third after fixing the economy and fighting terrorism.
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