Health care is an important issue to every American and, lately, has been the spotlight issue for the federal government. Here in New York, we are making great strides in improving our health care system and protecting patients against unfair HMO practices. During the 2009 Legislative Session, my Assembly colleagues and I passed three key pieces of legislation that were recently signed into law by the governor.
One of the major headaches patients have to deal with is working with Health Maintenance Organizations, or HMOs. Assembly Bill A.8402, which passed the Assembly in June, will take some of that stress away. This piece of legislation will prohibit insurers and HMOs from enacting potentially adverse changes in reimbursement policies without prior notification, prohibit insurers from treating an in-network doctor as an out-of-network doctor just on the basis that the referring doctor was out-of-network, extend current protections for consumers in HMOs to consumers in “HMO look-alike” plans, and will limit the time insurers have to review requests for post-hospital home care.
Another problem we are facing in health care is due to the fact that more than a quarter-million jobs have been lost in New York state since August 2008, which means that many of the jobs lost have equated to health care coverage loss. Due to this staggering statistic, the Assembly passed a bill that will extend the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which means that health coverage will be extended from 18 to 36 months for those who have lost their jobs.
This is a difficult job market, and many young New Yorkers are not only finding themselves without jobs but also without health coverage. As a parent, I know that one of the last things you want is to see your child go without health insurance, no matter how old your child happens to be. In light of this difficult situation, my colleagues in the Assembly and I passed bill A.9038, which expands access to health insurance by allowing unmarried children through age 29, regardless of financial dependence, to be covered under a parent's group health insurance policy.
I am happy to see that members of the New York State Legislature have decided to put partisan politics aside and pass these crucial bills and that the governor has chosen to sign them. I am hoping that we will have more of this cooperation in the future, and I look forward to what we can accomplish together for the good of all New Yorkers.
As always, if you have questions or comments about this or any other state issue, please contact me at either my Johnstown office at (518) 762-6486 or Herkimer office at (315) 866-5058.