Thousands in New York Area Could Lose Health Coverage Following Sept. 11 Attacks

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, "[t]housands of people," including small business employees and the spouses and children of the dead and missing, are at risk of losing their health insurance, the New York Times reports. Susan Dooha, health policy director for the New York City-based Gay Men's Health Crisis, said, "Some lost their employer. Or they purchase insurance on their own but lost their income. A lot of small employers don't offer health benefits." David Campbell, vice president for programs at the New York City-based Community Service Society, added, "Health care coverage is high on the list, after replacing income, of things that displaced workers are nervous about." Some of the large financial companies that were located in the World Trade Center have decided to cover health benefits for families of victims for varying periods of time. Families unable to obtain continuing coverage through an employer can opt for four months of disaster health coverage through New York's Medicaid program under provisions announced by HHS last month. To qualify, couples must have monthly incomes below $1,287; income limits for families with children are higher. Further, the American Red Cross said families could use its emergency assistance funds to pay health insurance premiums for three months. Under federal COBRA law, victims' families and the unemployed also can continue their health benefits for a certain time period if they pay both the employee and employer shares of the premium. However, such coverage could cost up to $7,000 for a family plan. Gail Shearer, Consumers Union health policy director, said that 20% of people eligible for such coverage cannot afford it. Various advocacy groups, including Consumers Union, have asked Congress to give direct federal assistance for health coverage to those who are newly unemployed or lost a family "breadwinner."

Service Workers Affected
Although workers of companies previously located in the World Trade Center and families of victims are the most directly affected by the disaster, many other workers, such as those in industries that provide services to Manhattan financial companies, also are feeling the effects. For example, more than 1,000 limousine drivers could lose their health benefits because of a "steep drop in demand" for their services. Drivers must work full time -- 250 trips over three months -- to qualify for health coverage. Mike Jaffee, general manager of Elite Limousine Plus, said, "It comes to the point where we cannot continue to provide this type of coverage for our drivers because they are falling below the minimum." Nazir Khan, a driver for Elite Limousine Plus, said, "Our jobs have been reduced by 80%. Everybody in the fleet is worried about losing their health care. Most of the guys have hypertension and have to get regular blood pressure checkups. A few have diabetes" (Freudenheim, New York Times, 10/2).