I've seen first hand the struggles a family faces when a family member becomes ill and does not have health insurance. When my father was sick and my family didn't have adequate health insurance, my mother took a second job for the benefits and to keep the family business up and running. I have worked to make health insurance affordable and accessible by supporting measures to:

• Create the Prescription $aver Card program, helping New Yorkers save 30 to 60 percent on drug costs (Ch. 58 of 2008);
• Increase income limits for the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program, helping more seniors to pay for their prescription drugs (A.4403) and;
• Provide more New York children with health insurance by expanding Child Health Plus. Click here for more information.

I also understand that in these tough economic times taxpayers need more relief. This year I sponsored a law to freeze property tax rate increases for one year on one-, two-, and three-family homes as well as condominiums and rental apartments in New York City (Chap. 207 of 2009).