Expanding Health Care Coverage

Grantee Name

United Hospital Fund of New York

Funding Area

Expanding Health Care Coverage

Publication Date

June 2011

Grant Amount

$776,725

Grant Date:

August 1, 2007 – January 8, 2010

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Approximately 2.5 million New Yorkers lacked health insurance in 2007, according to estimates from the United Hospital Fund of New York.

Public and private programs exist to increase coverage, but policymakers face several challenges in expanding coverage through these programs, including how to enroll and retain people in public programs, how to create options for low-wage workers, and how to enroll higher income people who go without coverage. In the first of two grants from the New York Health Foundation’s Coverage Consortium initiative, the United Hospital Fund analyzed a multi-staged action plan to promote the expansion of insurance in New York State. It also examined the private insurance market in New York through an objective analysis of the health care market and health care organizations, including self-funded arrangements, and reviewed relevant insurance laws and regulations.

This project was part of a larger NYHealth Coverage Consortium that funded 10 grants to seven universities, policy institutes, and community agencies across the State, supporting projects that could inform State health reform efforts, offer ways to streamline enrollment in public programs, significantly reduce costs and improve quality, and test ideas for expanding coverage among small employers, sole proprietors, and self-employed people.

Read an NYHealth special report that contains a summary of findings from this consortium.

Read about the second of two grants to the United Hospital Fund from the NYHealth Coverage Consortium initiative.

Outcomes and Lessons Learned