Ensuring Access To Quality Health Care

Two and a half million New Yorkers are uninsured. This must change and I am working to make health insurance more accessible and affordable. With health care costs rising rapidly, it is important to ensure access to affordable health care for all New Yorkers. As a legislator, and as a member of the Assembly Health and Insurance Committees, access to quality health care is at the top of my agenda.

I have fought to expand health care to individuals who need it most.
Amid the debate in Washington on how to reform the national health care system, I have been a lead sponsor since 2004 of legislation (A. 2356) to create a statewide, comprehensive health care system.

In 2009, I joined the Assembly in implementing new laws to expand healthcare access. First, we have worked to expand COBRA’s eligibility period. Now those who have been laid off can purchase healthcare from their former employer for 36 months instead of only 18 (Ch. 236 of 2009). We signed into law provisions to permit parents to insure their unmarried children up to age 29, provided that such children aren’t eligible for Medicaid or an employer-provided program (Ch. 240 of 2009). The law previously ended coverage at 19, or up to 23 if the child was in college. While families may have to pay the premiums, rather than employers, rates will be lower than those for individual plans. Thirty-one percent of uninsured New Yorkers are young adults who were removed from their family insurance plans.


I have advanced legislation to root out fraud in our health care system.
In 2007, I joined my colleagues in the Assembly in establishing the New York State False Claims Act, which provides whistleblowers with an incentive to root out fraud. The False Claims Act has helped identify problem areas, allowing Medicaid dollars to be spent on Medicaid recipients, not fraudulent claims. In addition, the plan strengthened the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General by adding 157 new positions – including 100 auditors – and providing new powers to the Attorney General. These actions will save New York taxpayers billions of dollars and help restore efficiency to an important program.

I also sponsored the 2006 law to combat the crime of Medicaid fraud through creating stronger penalties for offenders, and establishing the Office of Medicaid Inspector General. The growing crime of Medicaid fraud wastes taxpayer dollars and preys upon the State's most exposed citizens. The bill created an Office of Medicaid Inspector General to investigate and address abuse in our Medicaid system through audits and preventative measures. The legislative agreement created five new crimes, including four felonies, related to Medicaid fraud. By inspecting improperly paid claims that may be fraudulent, millions of taxpayer dollars will be recovered. Stronger oversight of this crime can lead to the capture of criminals and deter future illegal activity.


During my tenure in the Assembly, I have been a leader in providing free health care services to seniors, women, and children.
I have hosted annual Senior Health Fairs on the East Side in October where hundreds of community members have received free health services. Seniors have received a wide range of services including: flu shots; screenings for osteoporosis, blood pressure, diabetes, balance and memory; pneumonia shots; and general health information. Participants have included the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services; New York-Presbyterian Hospital; Lenox Hill Hospital; Beth Israel Hospital; and Mount Sinai Hospital. I look forward to hosting another Senior Health Fair this October.

This summer, I will sponsor the eighth consecutive annual visit by the New York University College of Dentistry's Mobile Dental Van to the Stanley Isaacs Community Center. This program provides free dental screenings for children from the Stanley Isaacs–Holmes Towers housing development within my district. The children are also provided with dental supplies and information on proper brushing habits.

I also will join the American-Italian Cancer Society and the Women's Outreach Network for the eighth time in October to provide free mammograms to dozens of East Side women. This program provides screening by a certified x-ray technologist, personalized instructions for self-examinations, radiological evaluations, and a report to the participant's physician.


Reducing the cost of prescription drugs is an important goal and I have pushed for legislation to achieve it.
The prices of necessary pharmaceutical drugs have increased to levels that have put them out of reach for too many of New York's elderly citizens. No senior should be forced to choose between life-saving prescriptions and other necessary costs such as food or rent. In 2009, I voted for legislation (A. 154), which was signed into law, to restore $49.9 million to the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program - which lowers prescription drug costs for seniors with fixed incomes - and restore $2.8 million to the Medicaid program to maintain "wrap around" coverage for drugs denied by Medicare Part D.

I have sponsored two other laws to lower these costs and increase access for all of New York's seniors - A. 5403 of 2005 requires that prescription drug prices be listed on a state-run website to allow seniors to comparison shop and save money on prescription drugs, and A. 9462 of 2006 provides for emergency prescription drug benefits under Medicaid during the implementation of the federal Medicare Part D program.


After the tragic events of on September 11, 2001, I fought to make sure emergency workers received the benefits they deserved.
I have authored two laws, Chap. 446 of 2006 and Chap. 199 of 2007, to bring workers' compensation benefits to 9/11 rescue, recovery and clean-up responders whose claims have been or would be barred on statute of limitations grounds. In 2008, I sponsored legislation which extends disability benefits to additional workers who were part of the rescue, recovery, and clean-up effort. This legislation came from the recommendations of the September 11 Worker Protection Task Force. This bill passed the Assembly and was signed into law in 2008.

The two laws I authored will help ensure that workers' compensation benefits are available to heroic individuals who were injured or became ill while working in the rescue, recovery, or clean-up operations following Sept. 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center, the Fresh Kills Landfill, or barges that transported materials between the two sites. There have been a startling number of ailments caused by the dust and debris inhaled at the World Trade Center site, but workers exposed to these environmental hazards have had their claims denied substantially more than non-9/11 related claims.


I have introduced legislation to protect consumers and doctors from bad practices.
I recently introduced a package of legislation aimed at creating better health insurance practices. The legislation provides a number of protections for patients and doctors:

• Requires insurance companies to supply providers with written confirmation of oral approval for services upon an insured;
• Provides for a set of minimum fair business practice standards that will ensure that health care providers are properly compensated for any medical services rendered in a timely manner and that disputed claims are addressed and settled within a mutually agreed upon framework;
• Provides a set of minimum fair business practice rules that will protect physicians and patients from certain unfair contract terms that some health insurance companies dictate as a condition of their participation in managed care networks;
• Holds health insurers liable for the financial costs associated with knowingly or recklessly making baseless claims of fraud or abusive billing against health care providers;
• Requires insurers to make prompt payments on claims submitted by a policyholder.

I have authored legislation to ensure that medical professionals are properly licensed.
A number of important medical professionals provide services in New York State, yet their areas of expertise are not properly recognized by State government. Properly regulating these professionals protects and formalizes their work, while also protecting patients to ensure that they receive care only from the most qualified professionals. Specifically, I have authored legislation to require individuals employed in the supply of central services (staff who sterilize instruments) in hospitals to be licensed and undergo continuing education (A. 1014), and to provide for the licensing of licensed orientation and mobility specialists and vision rehabilitation therapists (A. 5581A)


I sponsored legislation to vastly improve mental health benefits in New York State.
I am a proud co-sponsor of "Timothy's Law" (A. 12080 of 2006) which provided parity for insurance coverage of mental illnesses and required coverage for a wide range of conditions specific to children. Instituting equal coverage for mental health services is an efficient, cost-effective method of saving lives and reducing employee absenteeism and lost productivity. This legislation was signed into law in 2006. In 2009, I was a co-sponsor of a bill which extended these provisions and made them permanent.