Press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tracy Munford
(212) 614-5538 (office)
(646) 483-6804 (cell)

New York & National Public Interest Advocates File Lawsuit for Health Insurance – First in Nation Lawsuit on Behalf of Children

New York, NY, January 17, 2008 -- The parents of five New York State children filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York today challenging the Bush administration’s use of unpublished rules to reject New York State’s proposed plan to provide discounted health insurance to children in moderate income families through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (“SCHIP”).  If adopted, the state’s plan would have offered discounted health insurance to an additional 70,000 uninsured New York children. 

This is the first case that seeks to represent actual children affected by the new federal rules.  New York, Maryland, Illinois, and Washington filed a group lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 4, 2007, and New Jersey filed a separate case on October 1, 2007.

The three families are represented by two New York State public interest groups, the Community Service Society, based in New York City, and the Empire Justice Center, based in upstate New York, as well as two national law offices, the National Health Law Program and the Center for Medicare Advocacy.

In a joint statement, the leaders from the four organizations said, “We are filing this lawsuit to right the wrongs for the thousands of New York children and families who lack affordable health insurance.”

“I am terrified that an emergency will arise for one of my daughters and she won’t get all the services she needs because she doesn’t have insurance,” says Plaintiff Krystal Titus-Miles, who lives in upstate New York.  She adds, “Also, an emergency will mean new, impossible levels of medical debt for my family.  As it is, we have been shopping for clothes and shoes at the Salvation Army to try to make ends meet.”  The family was originally told that their children’s health coverage would cost $20 per month, only to learn a few weeks later that the premiums would in fact cost $196 per month per child after the Bush administration rejected New York’s plan.  Faced with these fees, the girls, ages 1 and 3, are now uninsured.

“It is well documented that uninsured people are unable to easily access basic health care, receive lower quality of care when they do access it, and often have poorer health outcomes than their insured counterparts,” says Elisabeth Benjamin, MSPH, JD, Director of Healthcare Restructuring Initiatives at the Community Service Society.  “To visit these harms on children is simply unconscionable.  As more and more employers stop offering affordable family coverage, the government should be doing everything in its power to assure more health care, not less.”

The families say that the federal government’s decision to reject New York’s plan is based on unlawfully adopted federal rules, issued in a letter on August 17, 2007, that are inconsistent with the federal SCHIP statute and violate the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires the government to adopt new rules only after public notice and comment.

“These illegal rules are a major step in the wrong direction,” said Jane Perkins, legal director of the National Health Law Program.  “The administration talks about state flexibility and federalism, but the August 17 directive imposes one-size-fits-all requirements on the states that limit their ability to craft programs tailored to the living conditions in each state.”

“The Child Health Plus program has been a wonderful program for my family, but I think it’s really unfair that the federal government has refused to let New York State make it affordable for working families like ours,” said New York City plaintiff Sunny Chan, whose 4 month-old infant and 3 year-old girl’s monthly insurance premiums jumped from $80 to $355 as a result of the new rules.  “My wife and I work very hard to play by all the rules to live in this very expensive city, and yet the full-price premium means that our family finds it harder and harder to make ends meet each month.”

The Advocacy Organizations
Community Service Society:  For 160 years, the Community Service Society of New York has been the leading voice on behalf of low-income New Yorkers and continues to advocate for the economic security of the working poor in the nation’s largest city.  Located at 105 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010.  Phone (212) 614-5461.  The families are represented by attorneys Juan Cartagena, Elisabeth Benjamin, and Michelle Light.

Empire Justice Center:  The Empire Justice Center is a statewide organization with offices in Rochester, Albany, White Plains, and Long Island, dedicated to protecting and strengthening the legal rights of people in New York State who are poor, disabled, or disenfranchised.  Located at One West Main Street, Suite 200, Rochester, NY  14614.  Phone (585) 454-4060.  The families are represented by attorneys Bryan Hetherington and Trilby deJung.

National Health Law Program:  The National Health Law Program is a national public interest law firm that seeks to improve health care for America's working and unemployed poor, minorities, the elderly, and people with disabilities.  Located at 211 North Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27154.  Phone (919) 968-6308 x 102.  The families are represented by attorney Jane Perkins.

Center for Medicare Advocacy:  The Center for Medicare Advocacy is a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization that provides education, advocacy, and legal assistance to help elders and people with disabilities obtain Medicare and necessary health care.  Located at P.O. Box 350, Willimantic, CT  06226.  Phone (860) 456-2614.  The families are represented by attorney Gil Deford.

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