450,000 New Yorkers will lose health insurance plan | 7 On Your Side Investigates
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York already has some of the highest health care premiums in the country and they could soon be getting even higher.
The state offers a unique health plan unlike any other state which will impact hundreds of thousands of families.
"It brings me a lot of anxiety," said Mike Walsh.
Like many people in living New York City, Walsh works a number of part-time jobs as a freelancer. He's a dialect coach.
"My work is very feast or famine," he said.
His employer doesn't offer insurance and he makes too much to qualify for Medicaid. So, he signed up for New York's Essential Plan, through the state's health department.
"The co-pays are pretty low which is nice because it keeps costs down and I can make sure I get my appointments, I make sure I can get all my medication," Walsh said.
He's one of 450,000 people on the Essential Plan who received an email saying his coverage will end this summer. That's because at least half of the plan is funded with federal dollars. The money was cut from the federal budget, which is the reason for the recent government shutdown in the first place.
"Without it, it would be very difficult for me to make ends meet," said Walsh.
He's not alone. In addition to those who received letters, there are more than 700,000 families in the Tri-State who bought their insurance through the Affordable Care Act's Health Insurance Marketplace and their premium credits are expiring.
According to the Empire Center for Public Policy, 456,040 people in New Jersey will be impacted, followed by 128,627 in Connecticut and 119,203 in New York.
Eyewitness News sat down with Dr. Donald Morrish, the CEO of Episcopal Health Services, which operates the only hospital on the Rockaway peninsula.
"With the loss of the Essential Plan, people come into the emergency room instead of going to their primary care doctor and use the emergency room, which is much more expensive to use instead of their primary care, but I understand it 100%," Dr. Morrish said.
He predicts with the loss of health credits and insurance, more people could delay care which ends up costing more in the long run for both the patient and the hospital.
"It's much more expensive to come to the emergency department than seeing your primary care provider," Dr. Morrish said.
Plus, it means more costly bills for ER visits.
"Most of the times, the hospital needs to absorb their costs and it becomes a vicious cycle," Dr. Morrish said.
His nonprofit hospital doesn't make a profit. And with the cost of labor, medication and procedures all going up, everyone's already doing more with less.
"So any effects of increasing insurance premiums and so forth, not only have a profound effect on patients, it's also the health care system and also the health care workers itself," said Dr. Morrish.
As for Walsh, the email said the state will reach out within three months with health care options that are available.
"It's very important to me to stay on top of my health because if I don't have my health, I can't work and I can't do anything," said Walsh.
In all, there's 1.6 million people who are enrolled in New York's Essential Plan. The state is asking for a reorganization of that plan. If approved, most of those enrolled will go back to a "basic" plan but the 450,000 New Yorkers who received letters will lose their insurance. Their incomes don't meet federal poverty level guidelines to qualify.
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