File #: Res 0794-2005    Version: * Name: Implement a policy of self-declaration of income to facilitate and expedite the enrollment of 1.3 million uninsured New Yorkers who are eligible for Medicaid.
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on General Welfare
On agenda: 2/2/2005
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling upon New York State to implement a policy of self-declaration of income to facilitate and expedite the enrollment of 1.3 million uninsured New Yorkers who are eligible for Medicaid.
Sponsors: Helen D. Foster, Maria Baez, Charles Barron, Yvette D. Clarke, Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., Alan J. Gerson, Sara M. Gonzalez, Allan W. Jennings, Jr., Melinda R. Katz, Annabel Palma, Christine C. Quinn, Kendall Stewart, Albert Vann
Council Member Sponsors: 13

Res. No. 794

 

Resolution calling upon New York State to implement a policy of self-declaration of income to facilitate and expedite the enrollment of 1.3 million uninsured New Yorkers who are eligible for Medicaid.

 

By Council Members Foster, Baez, Barron, Clarke, Comrie, Gerson, Gonzalez, Jennings, Katz, Palma, Quinn, Stewart and Vann

 

 

                     Whereas, According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2004 Current Population Survey, there were 45 million Americans with no health insurance living in the United States in 2003, including nearly 3 million persons in New York State; and

Whereas, The United Hospital Fund estimates that in 2002, 1.8 million persons were living without health insurance in New York City; and

                     Whereas, An average of one in three uninsured Americans is eligible for public health insurance, including 1.3 million uninsured New York State residents and approximately 800,000 uninsured persons in New York City; and

Whereas, For many uninsured individuals, income eligibility documentation requirements create a significant barrier to receipt of public health insurance, especially for  persons with informal and episodic work histories; and

                     Whereas, Verification of income is not required under federal Medicaid law; states have broad flexibility to determine what verification to require, and can utilize existing state or federal databases for eligibility verification either before or after  eligibility determinations; and                     

Whereas, A 2004 report by the United Hospital Fund entitled, “Lessons from States with Self-Declaration of Income Policies,” examines the effects of self-declaration of income policies on Medicaid enrollment; and

                     Whereas, The United Hospital Fund report found that states that relied on self-declaration of income and third party verification procedures rather than income documentation submitted by applicants increased the speed of eligibility determinations without increasing eligibility error rates or decreasing the quality of the Medicaid program; and

Whereas, Eleven states currently have self-declaration of income policies for Medicaid, including Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming; and

Whereas, Implementing a policy of self-declaration of income in New York State would enable more uninsured New Yorkers to receive health insurance benefits for which they are eligible; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon New York State to implement a policy of self-declaration of income to expedite the enrollment of 1.3 million uninsured New Yorkers who are eligible for Medicaid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LS#2224

1/11/05