BY KHADIJA BATUTA

NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the launch of a new website, NYC Health Insurance Link, created to help New York’s small businesses and uninsured individuals, including freelancers, independent workers and the unemployed, locate health insurance options appropriate to their budgets and needs.  The announcement was hosted by owners Bill Hilgendorf and Jason Horvath of Uhuru Design, a Brooklyn Chamber Member furniture and design business located in Red Hook.  Uhuru provides health insurance to its employees through Brooklyn HealthWorks, the Chamber's low-cost health plan for Brooklyn small businesses, which is included in the new tool. 

Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Carl Hum; Brooklyn HealthWorks Executive Director Dean Mohs, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; and Brooklyn Chamber Member Karen Auster of auster*events were on hand at the press conference that included Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda I. Gibbs; Human Resources Administration Commissioner Robert Doar; Office of Citywide Health Insurance Access (OCHIA) Executive Deputy Commissioner Marjorie Cadogan; New York State Health Foundation President and CEO James Knickman; New York State Health Foundation Senior Vice President David Sandman; and NYC Health Insurance Link project leader JoAnne Bailey.

NYC Health Insurance Link was developed to provide users with unbiased information and health plan comparisons across all plan types – both private and public – as well as to educate consumers about other health insurance issues, including tax benefits, how to lower costs, and more.  The site also has the flexibility to adapt to future federal and state health care reforms.

Funded by New York State Health Foundation through a grant to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, the new web-based tool located at nyc.gov builds upon the city’s earlier initiatives promoting health insurance access such as HealthStat, which targets outreach for public health insurance, and HealthPass purchasing alliance. 

With the launch of NYC Health Insurance Link, New York City is the first local government in the country to offer online assistance for health insurance options to its citizens as the federal government continues to work on this issue nationwide.

Click here to read the full press release.

Click here to view NYC Health Insurance Link.

Pictured above from left to right: Bill Hilgendorf of Uhuru Design, Human Resources Administration Commissioner Robert Doar, Jason Horvath of Uhuru Design, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda I. Gibbs, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Office of Citywide Health Insurance Access (OCHIA) Executive Deputy Commissioner Marjorie Cadogan and New York State Health Foundation Senior Vice President David Sandman.