Expanding Health Care Coverage

Grantee Name

United Hospital Fund of New York

Funding Area

Expanding Health Care Coverage

Publication Date

June 2011

Grant Amount

$547,352

Grant Date:

September 1, 2008 – May 17, 2010

DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

In the second of two grants from the New York Health Foundation’s Coverage Consortium initiative, the United Hospital Fund implemented Phase 2 of a project that aimed to advance public understanding of health insurance coverage and promote better public policies. Specific activities included studying private market reform with focused analyses on young adults, COBRA assistance, benefit design, and connector/exchange structures for New York. The United Hospital Fund also examined issues related to public health insurance program simplification such as participation rates, leveraging third party databases, Medicaid client notices, and tracking coverage trends over time using Census data.

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 first of two grants to the United Hospital Fund from the NYHealth Coverage Consortium initiative.

Outcomes and Lessons Learned

  • Updated the Fund’s 2006 “Blueprint for Universal Health Insurance Coverage in New York” to reflect policies generated during the Federal debates.
  • Analyzed activity in New York’s private markets and public programs, particularly in light of the economic recession.
  • Analyzed ways the State could streamline eligibility determinations and expand outreach to Medicaid and the State Childrens’ Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by drawing from data collected by other programs serving these families.
  • Produced a report, “Reducing Paperwork to Improve Enrollment and Retention in Medicaid and CHIP” that identifies ways New York can use third-party information to enroll and retain people in these programs.
  • Analyzed the impact on New York of new Federal legislation expanding COBRA benefits in the economic recession.
  • Produced the guidebook, “Hard Times and Health Insurance: Staying Covered When You Lose Your Job” to help consumers who lose their jobs keep their medical insurance.
  • Wrote the issue brief, “Cost Sharing in New York’s Health Insurance Market.”