Statement from Blair Horner, Vice President of Advocacy for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, on today's announcement that rates have been set for New York's Health Insurance Exchange:
Today, the Cuomo Administration made an irrefutable difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who are either paying exorbitant amounts for health care coverage now or living without health insurance altogether. By establishing affordable rates on a statewide Health Insurance Exchange, the Administration is giving New Yorkers who need coverage - including the thousands of uninsured New Yorkers who have cancer or who will be diagnosed with cancer this year - the power to make medical choices based on health needs, not finances.
Affordable and adequate health care coverage has been out of reach on the private health care market for families battling a chronic disease like cancer. As a result of the newly established Health Insurance Exchange that was set up through the Affordable Care Act, health insurance costs will become affordable; in turn, insurance becomes far more accessible to those who couldn’t previously afford a private plan. We are seeing this theory become reality today with the establishment of affordable rates on a four-tier plan system. This was a crucial first step in the state's efforts to build a stronger health care system.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Networks looks forward to working with the Cuomo Administration as it continues to build a high quality, affordable health care system that makes the patient the priority and protects cancer patients and their families.
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About the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.