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Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today released the successful results of HealthStat, the City's ongoing initiative to enroll uninsured New Yorkers (with children as a priority) in existing public health insurance plans and unveiled two new citywide programs to help more New Yorkers find health insurance. Since last year, an unprecedented number of uninsured New Yorkers -- more than 96,000 adults and children -- have been enrolled in Medicaid and Child Health Plus as a result of HealthStat.
Mayor Giuliani, joined by Schools Chancellor Harold O. Levy, also announced the kickoff of the School Incentive Program. Under this program, any school that enrolls between 70 and 100 percent of uninsured students will receive an incentive bonus ranging from $25,000 to $50,000. In a separate program, also announced today by the Mayor, the New York City Housing Authority will sponsor a competition to reward the top five tenant associations citywide that enroll the greatest number of uninsured children with $10,000 each. NYCHA will also award $25,000 to be shared equally among the top ten public housing developments in each of the City's eight districts that enroll the greatest number of uninsured children.
The Mayor made the announcement while visiting with students at I.S.73 in Maspeth,
Queens, one of the schools actively pursuing incentive awards for enrolling
uninsured students through the School Incentive Program. Joining the Mayor for
the announcement were Queens Borough President Claire Shulman; Deputy Mayor
Anthony P. Coles; Anne Heller, Executive Director of the Mayor's
Office of Health Insurance Access; and Tino Hernandez, Commissioner of the
New York City Housing Authority.
"Through the success of HealthStat and its many public and private partners,
tens of thousands of children and adults now have health insurance," the
Mayor said. "No other municipality in the nation has developed such a comprehensive
initiative to help uninsured adults and children find health insurance. We plan
to build upon last year's dramatic success with a host of new initiatives to
enroll even more uninsured New Yorkers. The incentive programs announced today
demonstrate how the City is developing innovative ways to identify and reach
out to uninsured New Yorkers - and to reward the agencies and individuals who
help make this effort possible."
Anne Heller, Executive Director of the Mayor's Office of Health Insurance Access said, "HealthStat's success is the direct result of the enormous energy and commitment City agencies and our private partners have shown over the last year. These two incentive programs will help spread that energy to local communities - to schools, tenants associations and the groups that work with them."
Deputy Mayor Anthony Coles said, "The Mayor has made helping uninsured New Yorkers obtain health insurance a priority for this Administration. I would like to congratulate the Mayor on putting in place another program that is making a fundamental difference in the quality of life of all New Yorkers, and which should remain an important part of City government in the future."
New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chairman Tino Hernandez noted that NYCHA is proud to be a part of the Mayor's effort to provide health care insurance to the children of families in need. "We've referred close to 8,000 NYCHA children since the program started," Hernandez remarked, adding, "the number of NYCHA sites where our residents can get HealthStat information and sign up children continues to steadily grow."
Schools Chancellor Harold O. Levy said, "This is an important step. Children without health insurance miss school more often and are therefore less well-prepared to succeed in the classroom. HealthStat can only improve our children's chances for academic success."
School Incentive Program: More than 250 New York City schools are actively pursuing the incentive as part of the School Incentive Program, first announced in the Mayor's State of the City address. Schools that enroll 70 percent of uninsured children receive a $25,000 award, while schools that enroll 100 percent of uninsured children receive a $50,000 award (targets and awards are adjusted for very small and large schools). For example, I.S. 73, which has 2400 students, has already enrolled 120 students, and needs a total of 500 students to qualify for the $50,000 incentive award.
The City and other public and private partners are also helping to support participating schools. City agencies are encouraged to adopt a school and help it achieve its targets, while public and private enrollers work with schools to enroll students. McDonald's has partnered to provide meals to attract families to enrollment events; and DuPont Pharmaceuticals is sponsoring enrollment events and providing giveaways to attract families.
NYCHA Incentive Program: NYCHA is sponsoring a competition to enroll uninsured New Yorkers. NYCHA will award $10,000 to each of the tenant associations of the top five public housing developments in the City that complete the most applications for children's health insurance. NYCHA will also award $25,000 to be shared equally among the top ten housing developments in each of the City's eight districts that enroll the most children. Tenant associations will be allowed to use the funds for educational, sports, food or bus packages to enhance community center activities.
HealthStat is a coordinated citywide initiative to provide uninsured New Yorkers with health insurance. HealthStat mobilizes all City agencies to identify uninsured New Yorkers and assist them in enrolling in public health insurance programs. As a first priority, HealthStat focuses on enrolling eligible children in Child Health Plus. The majority of the more than 1.5 million low income New Yorkers who are uninsured are eligible for Child Health Plus, Medicaid or Family Health Plus, to be introduced later this year. The success of HealthStat is reflected in the dramatic increase in the number of people enrolled in Child Health Plus last year. In 2000, total children's enrollment in Medicaid and Child Health Plus increased by 130,000 in New York City, while enrollment increased by approximately 30,000 in the rest of the state.
Child Health Plus is a health insurance program that covers regular medical check-ups, dental visits, eye exams and eye glasses, mental health services, prescription drugs, hospital care and other services. Established by New York State and the federal government, Child Health Plus serves children with family incomes of up to 250% of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL), or $35,400 per year for a family of three. Later this year, Family Health Plus, which provides health insurance to adults earning up to 150% of the FPL, is expected to become available and also will be a focus of HealthStat. Both Child Health Plus and Family Health Plus have substantially higher eligibility levels than does Medicaid.
HealthStat operates an automated touch-tone phone line - 1-888-NYC-6116 -that
pre-screens families for Medicaid and Child Health Plus eligibility and refers
them to convenient community locations for enrollment. The phone line operates
24 hours a day, 7 days a week and counselors (English and Spanish speaking)
are available Monday through Friday, 9AM to 8PM, to assist callers. Information
can also be obtained through HealthStat's website, www.nyc.gov/healthstat.