New York State report - Essay Example

Benefits of Reforms in New York’s Health Care System s Recently, the of New York has undergone a massive transformation in the health care department. The reform is mainly in the health insurance system and its main aims are to increase the insurance cover among people, protect people and also increase their knowledge about health insurance cover. The reforms include: expansion of Medicaid to include people in the lower income bracket to enjoy health services, to lure employers to provide health insurance to their workers, offer credits or loans to moderate income earners to pay for their health insurance, and to protect people from unnecessary rate increments.

(Cuomo, 2012)Using the $10 billion dollar waiver awarded, the state plans on transforming the health care system of its people through the MRT plan. Some of the key issues outlined in the waiver include: expansion of high quality primary health care, grants to increase health homes for patients in need of extensive health care and facilities, strategies to increase Medicaid savings in the long-term and evaluation of ongoing and new MRT initiatives to ensure that public funds are not embezzled.

The plans will ensure that health insurance becomes affordable through reduction of insurance premiums, pulling of resources together to reduce individual costs like coinsurance, copayments and deductibles and providing credits to ease the purchase of the insurance cover for low income earners.The benefits of these reforms are numerous. First, it reduces the high cost of Medicare due to the spread of costs among many people. Pooling of risks and costs among many people will result to lower premium rates and therefore, all costly health care would be affordable to all people.

Secondly, a good health system will result in higher productivity since the labor force is healthy. Lastly, people under the insurance cover seek medical attention regularly; this reduces the chances of illnesses occurring and the general cost of the health care.Health insurance exchanges refer to marketplaces where individuals and small businesses can compare and buy health insurance. The exchanges will be accessible through physical offices, phone lines and websites. There are four categories of coverage offered by insurers: platinum, gold, silver and bronze with platinum being the most costly while bronze being the cheapest.

The following grants were awarded to the state of New York to develop the Exchange program: Exchange Planning Grant, Early Innovator Grant and Exchange Establishment Grant. (Slavik & Webb, n.d.)The law requires that all residents of New York have insurance cover. However, some individuals are exempted. Prisoners, unregistered immigrants and those whose religion does not allow them are not eligible to this act. Those who qualify but fail to comply with the act will be fined on their tax returns.

Despite the benefits that New Yorkers will accrue from the health insurance, most people believe that ACA will weaken the economy since it is more expensive. Republicans in the House of Representatives have tried to repeal the act to no avail. They argue that employers will cut down on jobs since they cannot meet the terms outlined in the act.References1. CBS New York (Nov. 4, 2013). What the Affordable Care Act Means for Individuals in New York. Retrieved from http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/11/04/what-the-affordable-care-act-means-for-individuals-in-new-york/2.

Cuomo, Andrew (2012). Federal Health Care Reform in New York State. Retrived from http://www.healthcarereform.ny.gov/3. Cutter, Stephanie (Dec. 10, 2010). The White House. The Truth About Health Care Waivers. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/10/truth-about-health-care-waivers4. HHS.gov/HealthCare (Aug. 1, 2013). How the Health Care Law is Making a Difference for the People of New York. Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/bystate/ny.html5. Kaiser Family Foundation (n.d.).

State Health Facts. Medicare. Retrieved from http://kff.org/state-category/medicare/6. KXLY (Aug. 28 2013). Affordable Care Act Overview. Retrieved from http://www.kxly.com/health/health-care-reform/new-york-health-care-reform/215736507. Slavik, Andrew & Webb, Kara(n.d.). Health Insurance Exchanges: What You Need to Know. Retrieved from http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=45788. State Coverage Initiative (Jan. 2014). New Year, New Enrollment Numbers. Retrieved from http://www.statecoverage.

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