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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2002
PR-069-02
www.nyc.gov


MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG SIGNS BILL PROMOTING
AWARENESS OF PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE


Remarks by Mayor Bloomberg at a Public Hearing on Local Laws


The first bill before me today is Introductory Number 13-A, sponsored by Council Members Moskowitz, Miller, Quinn, and eleven of their colleagues. Intro. 13-A seeks to increase access to public health insurance and enroll children in low-cost or free health insurance plans. This bill will require the Department of Public Health to produce a pamphlet describing public health insurance program options available to New York City residents. The pamphlet will be published annually by the Department of Public Health and will be made available to the public in multiple languages. This bill requires participating City agencies, such as the Administration for Children Services and the Board of Education, to implement and administer a program for the distribution of these pamphlets to the public, including through the Internet.

Despite the availability of public health insurance programs, recent estimates suggest that close to one million low-income New Yorkers eligible to be insured are uninsured. These uninsured New Yorkers are often forced to turn to emergency rooms in City public hospitals for their basic medical needs, which results in higher costs for those services provided. These costs are inevitably absorbed by the City's taxpayers.

The publication and distribution of this pamphlet will help inform uninsured New Yorkers that they may be eligible for public health insurance and will facilitate their access to such coverage. This legislation is an effort to preserve the health and well being of all New Yorkers by ensuring that those New Yorkers who are eligible to receive public health insurance coverage, receive the coverage they deserve.

I will now turn to the bill's sponsor and to any other elected officials wishing to speak on this matter.

I will now turn to the general audience.

There being no one else wishing to speak and for the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.

www.nyc.gov

Contact: Ed Skyler / Jerry Russo
(212) 788-2958