New York State has historically been a leader in providing quality health care coverage to all New Yorkers. However, the cuts to health care in the 2010-11 Executive Budget Proposal will have devastating effects, especially to communities of color and immigrants.
When people can’t get quality care, they cannot work; when children are sick, they cannot focus in school. As a result, their communities fall farther behind.
Without health care coverage many people are forced to turn to emergency rooms for treatment. Cutting health care funding, including hospital charity care, quickly becomes an issue of life or death, not only for the individual, but also their whole community.
Some key budget actions are:
- Increase co-payments for the Family Health Plus Employer Buy-In Program
- Cuts charity care funds and fails to address the current lack of accountability for use of those funds
- Over $772.5 million in health care cuts
Better choices could be made that would promote access to quality health care for all New Yorkers.
How Budget Choices Affect
Liz from Queens
Liz came to the US from Ecuador in 2008. In Ecuador, she finished high school and studied Information Systems. Liz also owned an electronics business and was in charge of administration and accounting, which was her passion.
16 years ago, after having her first child, something went wrong during a surgery and Liz was left disabled in a wheelchair. One of Liz’s life goals was to work in the U.S. She wants to be able to support herself and her family. Because she loves working with numbers and accounting, one of her dreams is to continue to take classes in these areas. She has started to achieve this goal, since she recently completed a course in preparing taxes, and now has a part time job.
Liz wants to continue studying and wants to improve her English so she can work in the U.S. She had looked into having her grades from Ecuador transferred towards a GED here, and is just missing a few documents from Ecuador for this to happen. Then, she is a step closer in attending a college or university in the U.S.
Some time ago, Liz went to NY Queens Hospital with an emergency. Liz is uninsured and ineligible for any public health insurance. She has three kids and is a single mother. Her children’s father provides $1,500 per month and she makes a modest living at her part time job. She uses her money solely for living expenses and supplies for her kids, but Liz’s rent alone is $1,200 per month, which leaves very little for personal expenses, travel, supplies for school, clothing, household and medical needs.
After her visit to the hospital, Liz was left with medical bills, totalling $4,023.72.
With Make the Road New York’s help, Liz was able to apply for hospital charity care money to reduce the bills. Now she is only responsible for $950 of her original bill, which she can pay in low monthly installments.
Charity care funding was integral to Liz’s ability to stay financially afloat. Without hospital charity care, she would not have been able to pay her hospital bill – and would have gone into default. Liz is happy that hospitals are able to provide charity care and hopes they continue to do so.
Liz is part of Make the Road New York