Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: January 19, 2010
Contact:Pamela Finch (518) 514-8833 or employeralliance@yahoo.com

Governor’s budget proposal increases private health insurance costs

ALBANY - The 2010-11 budget plan announced by Governor David Paterson today once again uses New York’s privately insured to offset the state’s budget shortfall and threatens the stability of private health insurance coverage.

“At a time when more than 2.5 million New Yorker’s are uninsured, the Governor once again gambles with the stability of private health insurance,” said Scott Miller, chair of the Employer Alliance for Affordable Health Care. “This time he also fails to recognize the hypocrisy of an approach that decreases unfunded municipal mandates while at the same time, increases health insurance consumer mandates. Sadly, this  budget proposal dismisses any recommendations that would help to decrease private health insurance costs and instead embraced a pro-tax/pro-mandate approach that forces consumers to bear responsibility for the state budget woes.”

The executive budget plans calls for a $222 million “stop gap” health insurance increases, including $24.6 million to be added to the patient services surcharge borne by consumers, $70 million in procedural changes that were previously eliminated as a cost-saving measure for consumers, plus another $127 million through increased fees and assessments.

The Governor has also proposed a reduction in the small business subsidy included in the 2006 mental health mandate called Timothy’s Law. This funding is used to reimburse small businesses for the cost they must incur to comply with this state regulation.

A third proposal in the Executive Budget shifts the burden paying for early intervention treatments from the local governments, to private health insurers.

“Last week, the Employer Alliance for Affordable Health Care provided Governor David Paterson with a four-point plan that would help mitigate the growing problem that small businesses are having when it comes to obtaining and paying for private health insurance coverage,” Miller said. “It’s important that state leaders recognize that any new tax, fee or assessment on health insurance is ultimately passed along to consumers and we can’t afford to pay any more.

“We ask the State Legislature to reject the Governor’s efforts to increase our costs and instead, implement a plan that will provide hardworking New Yorkers with health insurance that is easy to obtain and affordable.”