The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York and United Hospital Fund (UHF) released a new report today that examines the 5% of New Yorkers without health coverage and outlines ways the State could close the gap. The report, Reaching the Five Percent: A Profile of Western and Central New Yorkers Without Health Coverage, affirms that the majority of those individuals are likely eligible for coverage, but they just don’t know how to access it.
It finds that the State could reach those uninsured individuals through broader outreach, improved messaging, and deeper subsidies. It includes a census data analysis that maps the uninsured rate by age and income in 16 Western and Central New York counties.
“This report provides a road map for where more resources are needed, a number of common-sense policy approaches to close the gap, and poignant voices from real people that both amplify the data findings and call on us to act,” said Nora OBrien-Suric, PhD, president of the Health Foundation.
While the report only focuses on Western and Central New York, the methods for increasing coverage can be applied statewide. This report highlights the fact that there are ways under the current system in which the State can expand health insurance coverage for all New Yorkers.