S’ Park has lowest health insurance rate in Brooklyn
Scheduled to launch in the
Bronx in August and spread
to the fi ve boroughs by 2020,
the plan will offer New
Yorkers a public insurance
option, allowing residents to
access health care services
at a sliding-scale cost at any
public hospital.
But with 70 public
facilities strewn across the
fi ve boroughs, not all New
Yorkers will have equal
access to affordable care,
according to the study.
“Because NYC Care
relies on using NYC Health
+ Hospitals facilities, the
success of the initiative
is dependent in part on
accessibility,” the study
claims.
In areas with low insured
rates and no public hospitals
— like Sunset Park — NYC
Care may be a tough sell.
South Brooklyn only has
a handful of public clinics,
Still Jewish Family owned
and Independently operated
BY ROSE ADAMS
Sunset Park and Windsor
Terrace house the lowest
number of health-insured
residents in the borough
and claim one of the lowest
insured rates in the city —
according to a report by the
Independent Budget Offi ce.
The study, released on
July 1, revealed that 12.4
percent of residents in
Sunset Park and Windsor
Terrace are uninsured,
compared to Brooklyn’s
average uninsured rate of
6.9 percent in 2017. The two
neighborhoods mark the
fourth lowest rates of health
insurance in New York
City, with 17,642 residents
uncovered, according to 2018
data.
IBO — a publicly-funded
agency that provides
information about New York
City’s budget — compared
each New York City district’s
uninsured rate to its number
of public hospitals to predict
the effi cacy of Mayor Bill
de Blasio’s upcoming NYC
Care plan — a $100 million
initiative that aims to
implement the nation’s
largest public health care
system.
STILL SERVING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF BROOKLYN AT OUR NEW LOCATION
1700 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Our helpful and experienced staff remains the same
Our telephone number remains the same
718-338-1500
COURIER L 16 IFE, JULY 12–18, 2019 M BR B G
mainly located in Sheepshead
Bay, Coney Island, and
Brighton Beach, the study
shows. While Sunset Park
residents can visit the NYU
Langone Family Health
Center on 55th street — which
also offers care on a slidingscale
basis — they will have
to travel to King’s County
Hospital in East Flatbush if
they choose to take part in
the city’s public health care
option.
Bushwick also has one of
Brooklyn’s lowest uninsured
rates at 11.5 percent, although
the neighborhood houses a
number of public facilities in
the area.
The study claims that
Canarsie and Flatlands, while
having an uninsured rate of
6.2 percent, lacks access to
health care facilities, forcing
residents to travel to East
Flatbush or East New York
for cheap medical attention.
Sunset Park has the lowest percentage of health-insured residents in
Brooklyn, according to a new study by the Independent Budget Offi ce.
Photo by Georgine Benvenuto
South Brooklyn lacks
public hospitals and
clinics, making it diffi cult
for uninsured residents
to take part in Mayor de
Blasio’s upcoming “NYC
Care” program, according
to IBO’s report. IBO