Wednesday, March 23, 2011

NY Feeling Better with Obamacare

With the one year anniversary of the Health Reform Law on Wednesday, the White House outlined the impact of the act on the state of New York.
The Obama administration stressed the reduction in costs for seniors as the result of a strengthening of Medicare. They noted that 252,288 New York residents who were impacted by Medicare's “donut hole” for prescription drugs received $250 in tax rebates, with an eventual 50 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs when they hit the donut hole this year.
They also highlighted the fact that 74,600 young New Yorkers under the age of 26 are allowed to stay on their parents' health insurance as the result of changes from last year's law. Additionally, about 1.1 million kids in New York with pre-existing conditions will be able to get insurance, as most insurance companies are now banned from denying coverage to children because of a pre-existing condition.
The issue of costs were also addressed, as the Obama administration touted the creation $340,358 in tax credits for small businesses in New York to help offset the costs of purchasing coverage for their employees.
Finally, they noted that New York has $156 million from the Affordable Care Act. Grants to New York include:

· $1.8 million to support a consumer assistance program
· $1 million to plan for a Health Insurance Exchange
· $27 million to develop an “Early Innovator” Exchange IT model
· $1 million to crack down on unreasonable insurance premium increases
· $30.1 million to support capital development in community health centers
· $34.6 million from the Prevention and Public Health Fund
· $48 million in Therapeutic Discovery Project Program Tax Credits and Grants
· $1.7 million for Medicare improvements for patients and providers
· $6.1 million for demonstration projects to address health professions workforce needs
· $250,000 for Nursing and Home Health Aides Training Programs
· $4.1 million for Maternal, Infant and Childhood Home Visiting

No comments:

Post a Comment