New York City Mayoral Candidates Separately Discuss Potential Health Initiatives

Three New York City mayoral candidates on Aug. 7 discussed potential health initiatives while on the campaign trail, the New York Times reports. Aides for Peter Vallone, current City Council president and one of four Democratic contenders for mayor, presented Vallone's plan to have the city pay for insurance premiums under Child Health Plus, saving parents of eligible children between $108 and $180 per year per child. To enroll children in Child Health Plus, a family must earn no more than 250% FPL, or $44,125 annually for a family of four. Vallone's plan, the formal announcement of which is expected on Aug. 8, would cost the city approximately $147 million per year, which staffers said could be "diverted" from other areas in the budget. According to the Times, children's advocates "welcomed" the plan, but said that eliminating premiums alone would be insufficient if the financially struggling Health and Hospitals Corporation, which runs the city's public hospitals, wasn't fixed first. Also discussing Child Health Plus, mayoral candidate Michael Bloomberg (R) yesterday "urged" that the city allow schools to enroll eligible children as a step toward reducing the city's estimated 300,000 eligible but unenrolled children. Democratic mayoral contender Mark Green, the city's current public advocate, also said his health care "wish list" includes establishing a dozen "comprehensive" rape treatment centers and requiring all city hospitals to provide rape counseling. Green's plan also called for a $1 million outlay from both the city and the state for forensic examiners at the treatment centers to "collect evidence that could be used in court" (Sengupta, New York Times, 8/8). For further information on state health policy in New York, visit State Health Facts Online.