By Yepoka Yeebo
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — New York state is now offering coverage to residents with preexisting medical conditions and no medical insurance, the first step towards sweeping health care reforms approved by Congress.
Gov. David Paterson announced Monday that the New York Bridge Plan is ready to enroll an expected 15,000 New Yorkers, saving them as much as $600 per month on insurance costs.
"One of the most immediate benefits of Federal health reform is this program to provide assistance to people with health problems and no insurance," Paterson said in a statement. "We welcome this opportunity to offer affordable health insurance to our most vulnerable uninsured New Yorkers," he added.
Health insurance for a person with a preexisting medical condition currently costs around $1,000 a month, the governor's office estimated. The New York Bridge Plan costs $421.
The plan is a step on the way to full implementation of President Barack Obama's health care reform in 2014.
State officials told the Daily News the state will get approximately $272 million out of the $5 billion national federal funding set aside for the program.
"It's an incredible first step for New Yorkers" to have the bridge plan to 2014 for preexisting conditions, said Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of health initiatives for the Community Service Society of New York told he News.
"We finally have a product for the sickest and most vulnerable in the state," she told the paper. "It's really a godsend."
According to the governor's office, in order for applicants to qualify for coverage, they must be legal US residents, live in New York State, have one or more preexisting medical conditions and not have had health care coverage for the last six months. Enrollment is taken on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning that when the program is full, applicants will be put on a waiting list.
A non-profit arm of Emblem Health, Group Health Incorporated, will run the program.
