Coverage for Eligible Small Businesses and Sole Proprietors

The Health Care Reform Act of 2000 introduced a program entitled "Healthy NY" which promotes access to quality health care by providing comprehensive health insurance to those citizens who need it most.

The Healthy NY program is designed to assist small business owners in providing their employees and their employees’ families with the health insurance they need and deserve. In addition, uninsured sole proprietors and workers whose employers do not provide health insurance may also purchase comprehensive coverage directly through the Healthy NY program.

Overview – Healthy NY Objective

Healthy NY is a unique program designed to encourage small employers with 50 or fewer employees to offer health insurance coverage to their employees, dependents, and other qualified individuals. Healthy NY is also available to eligible working uninsured individuals including sole proprietors. With this program, eligible individuals can purchase the streamlined benefits packages that are available to employees of small businesses participating in the Healthy NY small business insurance program. The program creates standardized health insurance benefit packages that are offered by all health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in New York State. These packages are made more affordable through State sponsorship, so that more uninsured small employers and uninsured employed individuals are able to purchase health insurance coverage.

All HMOs in New York State offer the streamlined, yet comprehensive Healthy NY health insurance benefit packages to eligible businesses and individuals. Healthy NY includes health benefits that cover essential health needs including inpatient and outpatient hospital services, physician services, maternity care, preventative health services, diagnostic and x-ray services, and emergency services. Applicants may now choose a benefit package with a limited prescription drug benefit or a benefit package without a prescription drug benefit.

Although Healthy NY is available to small employers, sole proprietors, and uninsured working individuals, each group has its own set of eligibility criteria and participation rules. It is suggested when using this site that you first determine which category you fall into based upon your own personal circumstance. Once you have identified your category, you may then proceed to the appropriate heading to review the applicable rules and criteria.