skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Educators preserve, shape future with 'ALT NEW COLLEGE'; NY appeals court denies delay for Trump civil fraud trial; Michigan coalition gets cash influx to improve childcare.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A House Committee begins its first hearing in the Biden impeachment inquiry, members of Congress talk about the looming budget deadline and energy officials testify about the Maui wildfires.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A small fire department in rural Indiana is determined not to fail new moms and babies, the growing election denial movement has caused voting districts to change procedures and autumn promises spectacular scenery along America's rural byways.

Advocates Push NY State for Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 10, 2016   

NEW YORK - Undocumented immigrants aren't covered under the Affordable Care Act, leaving about 457,000 people ineligible for coverage in New York alone.

A new report from the Community Service Society, which advocates for impoverished New Yorkers, outlines what it calls "practical and affordable" ways to close the coverage gap.

The group's vice president of health initiatives, Elisabeth Benjamin, says covering more immigrants, even under the most expensive proposal, would cost less than one-half of one percent of the state's Medicaid budget.

"The extension of the 'Essential Plan,' which provides health coverage to people up to 200 percent of poverty. There would be 241,000 eligible New Yorker's eligible," says Benjamin. "We think 111,000 would potentially join and it would cost $462 million a year."

Benjamin adds people who are uninsured are more vulnerable to illness, death and economic ruin from expensive medical costs. She says those who have health coverage end up sharing the cost burden, through higher taxes, medical bills and insurance costs.

More importantly, says Benjamin, her group believes insuring people no matter what their immigration status is the right thing to do.

"We have lots of new Americans in New York State," says Benjamin. "They contribute substantially in taxes and in providing us great workers and so, it's sort of a matter of justice. It's only fair to treat our immigrant residents equally as other residents."

She notes under the Affordable Care Act, federal funding to offset hospital costs for the uninsured will gradually be reduced starting in 2017, so the state needs to plan for that. She says New York receives more of this funding than any other state.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Michigan is among 20 states to receive a multiyear grant from the Pritzker Children's Initiative. (SneakyPeakPoints/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The coalition known as "Think Babies Michigan" has secured more than $36 million in funding to offer grants to child-care providers for infants and to…


Social Issues

play sound

Nearly 100 school board elections are coming up in Minnesota this fall, with some gaining attention because of the candidates who are running…

Social Issues

play sound

The so-called conservative "hostile takeover" of a small, progressive liberal arts college in Florida is seeing some resistance from former students …


Only 546 of the tenants in the the 5,563 eviction cases filed in Nebraska in the first half of 2023 were represented by legal counsel. (tab62/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

High rent prices are draining the budgets of many Nebraska renters, who are paying between 30% and 50% of their income on rent. In some parts of the …

Social Issues

play sound

As the federal government nears a shutdown over a budget impasse in Congress, Wisconsin offices that help low-income individuals worry they'll have …

Lewiston, Idaho, sits on the Snake River at the border with Washington. (Guy Sagi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Indigenous leaders are traveling through the Northwest to highlight the plight of dwindling fish populations in the region. The All Our Relations …

Social Issues

play sound

Washington performs well in a new report scoring states' long-term care systems. The Evergreen State ranked second in AARP's Long-Term Services and …

Social Issues

play sound

A lack of housing options, mental-health challenges and a lack of connections and support have combined to drive an uptick in the number of foster …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021