Andrew Friedman

Speaker Quinn Promotes Healthy Accountability

Manny Lanza died after being denied treatment at a New York City hospital because he did not have health insurance.

Notwithstanding the fact that hospitals receive almost 1 billion dollars each year from the State government to help them pay for the costs associated with providing health care to uninsured and underinsured New Yorkers, most private hospitals fail to let patients know how to access the reduced cost or free care that they need. As a result, ill New Yorkers, fearful of sky high health care bills, like Manny Lanza deny themselves health care that they desperately need. More commonly, low-income New Yorkers struggle to pay hopsital bills that they should not have received in the first place.

Private, not-for-profit hospitals, routinely aggressively bill uninsured New Yorkers at the highest rate possible, even though they have an obligation to help patients apply for emergency Medicaid, insurance, fee reductions or charity care.

In her first legislative move of 2006, Speaker Quinn took a stand against such abuse. Speaker Quinn announced that she will introduce City legislation, The Patient Information Act, that will force hospitals to share important information about the forms of financial assistance and reduced cost care that are available to patients. The legislation is an important step in the right direction.

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Posted at 7:26 AM, Feb 02, 2006 in Health Care
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