Long before the national debate focused on health care, Governor Cuomo made
New York a leader in providing greater benefits to more people at lower costs.
New York is the first state in the nation to require health insurers to cover
all who apply, regardless of age, sex, occupation, or medical condition without
discriminating against those who have been or might be sick by charging them
more.
At the same time, New York has been a leader in controlling health costs. In
fact, during the 1980's N.Y.S. experienced the lowest growth in health care
costs in the nation.
The Governor saved 15 hospitals serving hundreds of thousands of poor and
uninsured New Yorkers through a program that gives special aid to institutions
serving a disproportionate number of such patients.
The Governor is leading the fight in Washington to get New York's fair share
of Medicaid dollars. Some states receive as much as 80 percent in federal
funding for Medicaid expenses but New York receives only 50 percent.
The Governor created the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage Program,
"EPIC", to ensure that all seniors can afford the
medication they need. The program has more than 90,000 participants, with plans
to expand. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, "SNAP", ensures that
30,000 elderly New Yorkers receive critical nutrition assistance to combat
malnutrition and related illness. The Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly
Program, provides in-home non-medical services to 40,000 seniors.
The nation's first state program to provide out-patient health insurance to
disadvantaged children, Child Health Plus, has benefited more than 60,000
youngsters who otherwise would not be adequately covered. That program is now
being expanded and will eventually cover 100,000 children.
The Governor's successful prenatal assistance program has expanded health
care to hundreds of thousands of working poor and pregnant women, who might not otherwise have been able to afford
health care.
The Governor has been the national leader in attacking the deadly AIDS
epidemic, investing more than any other state in AIDS treatment and prevention.
The state was the first to create an AIDS Institute to help those infected and
to provide leadership in searching for a cure. The Governor has also saved the
state millions in Medicaid costs by paying insurance premiums for AIDS victims
when they can no longer afford them, and paying rent subsidies that prevent
them from becoming homeless as their health deteriorates and their income
dwindles.