“I believe significant parts of the implementation of the ACA will be within the purview of the Insurance Committee,” said Cahill. He said he expected to learn about the jurisdictional overlap of the various agencies in the near future.
Cahill is no stranger to the subject of extending health insurance to the underserved. As a member of the Assembly’s Health Committee, he helped pass legislation establishing New York’s state health benefit exchange. In the four-year sabbatical imposed by the voters on his Assembly career, Cahill had served an executive for WellCare, a local healthcare insurance provider in Ulster County.
Some 2.7 million New Yorkers, approximately 15 percent of the population under 65, don’t have health insurance. It is currently estimated that 1.1 million of them will get coverage under the new legislation.
Middle-class people will be able to pick from a menu of private insurance plans. Most people will be eligible for governmental help to pay part of their premiums. Consumers will be able to choose from among alternative plans from multiple providers at various levels of cost and coverage.
Low-income people will be steered to safety-net programs for which they might qualify. New York’s Medicaid programs provide wide coverage.
