Due to the large number of undocumented immigrants that are currently ineligible to opt into ObamaCare, the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation (“HHC”), the largest municipal healthcare system in the country, will face huge shortfalls of money in the coming years, according to a bombshell report that City Comptroller Scott Stringer released yesterday.
The report titled Holes in the Safety Net: Obamacare and the Future of New York City’s Health & Hospitals Corporation found that prior to the passage of ObamaCare a.k.a the Affordable Care Act (ACA), about 1.2 million City residents were uninsured. Just under 500,000 City residents enrolled as of April 15, 2014, of which 80 percent reported having no insurance at the time of enrollment.
However, this left about 800,000 residents, many of whom are undocumented immigrants, who are largely ineligible for public health insurance like Medicaid and prohibited from purchasing private coverage under the ACA.
The HHC, which operates Kings County and Coney Island Hospitals in Brooklyn, is mandated to treat anyone who comes into these facilities. Under the ACA federal funding formula, the HHC stands to lose millions of dollars due to the undocumented immigrants inability to sign up for the ACA.
To strengthen HHC’s financial condition and reduce pressure on the City to fill the gap created by the reduction, the report recommends that Congress should postpone implementation of the cuts until a fuller picture of the numbers, characteristics, and geographic distribution of the remaining uninsured emerges and the impact of the proposed cuts—particularly on financially-stressed safety-net hospitals like HHC—can be accurately assessed.
Additionally, the report recommends to make undocumented immigrants eligible for Coverage under the ACA.
To read the full report click here.
