N E W S
J U L Y 8
THE MOST UNINSURED
FLUSHING-WHITESTONE AREA HAS MOST PEOPLE WITHOUT HEALTH CARE: NYC STUDY
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
The neighborhoods of Flushing, Murray Hill and
Whitestone have the highest rate of residents without
health insurance, according to a new report published
by the New York City Independent Budget Office
(IBO).
Some of the city’s community districts had particularly
high shares of uninsured but little access
to nearby public hospital facilities, according to
the report, “Are NYC Health + Hospitals Facilities
Located in Community Districts With the Highest
Shared of Uninsured New Yorkers?” which mapped
the location of public hospital facilities and uninsured
residents in 59 community districts.
In January, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the
launch of a new program called NYC Care, a
city-funded NYC Health + Hospital initiative expected
to cost $100 million per year when fully implemented
in fiscal year 2022. The program will serve
approximately 600,000 New Yorkers without insurance
by strengthening New York City’s public health
8 LEHAVRE COURIER | JULY 2019 | WWW.QNS.COM
insurance option, MetroPlus, and guaranteeing anyone
ineligible for insurance — regardless of ability
to pay and immigration status — has direct access to
NYC Health + Hospitals’ physicians, pharmacies and
mental health and substance services.
Expected to roll out in the Bronx later this summer
and across the boroughs by 2021, the new initiative
aims to link uninsured individuals with a primary
care provider in the hopes of keeping patients out of
the emergency room visits for routine care.
Overall, there were about 615,000 uninsured New
Yorkers in 2017, roughly 7 percent of the city’s population,
according to figures from the U.S. Census
Bureau. Among city residents who were not U.S.
citizens about 300,000, or nearly 22 percent were
uninsured — and the rate was likely even higher
among non-citizens who were undocumented, the
report said.
In Queens, there is a lack of access to NYC Health
+ Hospital facilities in neighborhoods with the highest
shares of uninsured residents.
Based on the report, Community District 7, which
includes Flushing, Murray Hill and Whitestone (with
a total population of 257,989), had an uninsured rate
of 15.5 percent in 2017, the highest in the city. Yet,
there are no public hospitals in the district, the report
said.
Additionally, the total uninsured population in the
district includes 26,315 non-citizens, according to
the report.
Following Community District 7, other Queens
neighborhoods such as Community District 3
(Jackson Heights and North Corona) and 4 (Elmhurst
and South Corona) also had comparatively high
uninsured residents as well as nearby public hospital
facilities. More than 14 percent of residents Queens
Community Districts 3 and 4 were without insurance,
according to the report.
Neighborhoods with comparatively lower rates of
uninsured residents include Manhattan’s Community
District 3 (Chinatown and the Lower East Side, 6.0
percent uninsured) and Community Districts 1 and 2
in the Bronx (Hunts Point, Longwood, and Melrose
with 9.3 percent) served by a number of NYC Health
+ Hospitals facilities.
L E H A V R E
Photo via Getty Images
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
