Health and Health Insurance

The ever-rising cost of health care remains the number one concern among all Business Council members. New Yorkers pay among the highest costs for health insurance in the country. We will:

• Focus on state “health exchange” legislation, as mandated by federal health care reform, to assure that it does not exacerbate existing market problems or impose significant cost shifts
  
  
• Push for the definition of “essential benefits” for plans to be offered through health exchanges; under recent federal rules, defining coverage mandates for these plans is being shifted to the states
  
  
• Reject new coverage mandates for group health plans
  
  
• Push for the appointment of members to and the convening of the New York Health Care Quality & Cost Containment Commission. This commission was authorized in 2007 and is an ideal means through which to conduct the reviews of existing insurance coverage mandates
  
  
• Avoid additional cost shifting to private sector plans in any additional Medicaid reforms

For more information on health care legislation visit: www.bcnys.org/inside/healtcom.htm