Author: Shira Tarlo / Source: Salon
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, announced on Tuesday that the nation’s most-populous city would begin to guarantee health care to every single resident, regardless of their immigration status or their ability to pay. The mayor said the “unprecedented approach” is projected to cover more than half-a-million uninsured New Yorkers who currently use the emergency room as a primary provider.
“Health care isn’t just a right in theory, it must be a right in practice,” de Blasio tweeted. “Today I’m announcing a plan to guarantee health care for all New Yorkers. Through our own public option and a new program called NYC Care, we’ll ensure the first stop for people isn’t the emergency room.”
The initiative would help provide primary and specialty care for the city’s uninsured residents, according to de Blasio. However, his spokesman Eric Phillips clarified shortly after the mayor’s surprise announcement that it was not a form of health insurance. “This is the city paying for direct comprehensive care (not just ERs) for people who can’t afford it, or…
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