Dear New Yorker,
As you might have heard, starting this month you can enroll for health insurance through NY State of Health: The Official Health Plan Marketplace. Coverage will begin on January 1st, 2014. This gives you three months to explore the affordable health plans available through the Marketplace, in order to find the best option for you and your family.
The Marketplace will offer affordable, free or low-cost health insurance options, and the newly launched site will make it easy to find, compare and buy insurance plans. You can use the site to check your eligibility for free insurance through Medicaid or Child Health Plus. For those who do not qualify for free plans, the Marketplace will help you determine if you qualify for financial assistance for purchasing a private plan.
There are many plans to choose from, and due to the Affordable Care Act, all plans will cover 10 essential health benefits like emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, and more. Additionally, no plan can cap how much insurance they will provide over the course of a year or a lifetime.
If you receive health insurance for your job, you are able to keep that plan. However, if your employer-provided plan costs more than 9.5 percent of your income, you may be eligible for assistance to purchase insurance through the Marketplace.
You can access the NY State of Health Marketplace at www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov. Due to overwhelming interest in the program, you might experience some difficulties trying to register and enroll online. If so, please don't get discouraged. In addition to the website, there are also trained independent enrollers who work with you to understand your options. If you have questions or want to make an appointment with a trained enroller, you can email enroll@cssny.org or call (888) 614-5400.
Act now to take advantage of this historic opportunity to access affordable health care, which can help make our whole city healthier and safer.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council
Maria del Carmen Arroyo
Chair, Health Committee
NYC Council