In Streamlining Public Healthcare Option, ‘You Don’t Need All That Paper’ Said Officials
Applying for public health insurance, a process that normally takes up to three months, can now take two weeks or less with Health Plus’s new paperless enrollment.
"We all know this is the future," said Borough President Marty Markowitz at a press conference this week, calling it "a big step toward achieving what we hope will be some form of universal health care."
As Senator Harry Reid floundered on the public option this week, Markowitz announced a partnership with Health Plus to provide public health insurance to almost 300,000 people in the New York area. Their program, the Facilitated Enrollment Electronic Application for Medicaid, Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus will allow eligible citizens to enroll in this public option. By 2010, all of Health Plus’s enrollment and recertification will be through FEEA.
“Congress, under the leadership of President Obama, has finally made health care a priority," Markowitz continued, "and we must continue to have that same urgency on the state and local levels in delivering coverage efficiently and more accurately to the New Yorkers and families who need it the most.”
Under the old system, applicants’ papers went through various offices to be processed. With FEEA, data is entered only once before it reaches Albany. Not only does it simplify enrollment, officials say, it also reduces the likelihood of documents being misplaced — a common occurrence with the hand-delivered system.
"You don’t need all that paper," said Georganna Chapin, President & CEO of the Hudson Center for Health Equity & Quality, which developed and licensed FEEA, in a statement. "It just slows things down."
This is just the latest in a series of the Hudson Center’s efforts to provide accessible public health insurance for New Yorkers, 50 percent of whom are eligible for public health insurance. Earlier this year, the Hudson center developed EDITSXPRESS, which electronically transfers papers to New York City’s Human Resource Administration, and Enrollny.org, an online application that determines eligibility by asking four questions. After applying online, the applicant receives a call within 48 hours to schedule the face-to-face interview necessary to complete the application.
In a statement, James R. Knickman, president and CEO of the New York State Health Foundation, said, "One of the quickest ways we can reduce the skyrocketing number of uninsured New Yorkers is to make sure those who are eligible for public programs are enrolled.
(Photo by Kathryn Kirk, pictured left to right: David Wilhoft, director of marketing and business development, Health Plus; Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham; Ada Rodriguez, chief marketing officer, Health Plus; BP Markowitz; Georganne Chapin, president & CEO, Hudson Center for Health Equity & Quality; Charles Ottomanelli, chief information officer, Health Plus; Mary Harper, executive deputy commissioner, Medical Insurance and Community Services Administration; and Shanie Persaud, executive director, Guyanese & American Business & Professional Council)
