Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan that would guarantee healthcare for 600,000 low-income New Yorkers, with Bronx residents expected to get priority. Coverage will also apply to undocumented immigrants.

But how to pay for it became the biggest question during de Blasio’s announcement.

“Health care is a human right. In this city we are going to make that a reality in this city we are taking that ideal and putting it into practice. From this moment on in New York City everyone is guaranteed the right to health care,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio, sitting alongside advocates and First Lady Chirlane McCray.

De Blasio, announcing the NYC Care initiative at Lincoln Hospital, said about 600,000 New Yorkers do not have any health care coverage at all. The plan appears to be an alternative to the Affordable Care Act passed under the Obama administration.

The Bronx, a borough with poor health outcomes compared to the rest of the city, will be prioritized, officials said.

NYC Care will be launched in the summer. The program will cost at least $100 million a year. The goal is to connect New Yorkers who cannot afford coverage or are ineligible for health insurance, including undocumented New Yorkers, with a primary care doctor. The idea is to avoid going to an emergency room for non-emergency situations, freeing them up for their intended purpose. Typically, the uninsured go to an emergency room to be seen.

This plan will ensure that every New Yorker who needs a doctor has access to a primary care doctor.  According to de Blasio the message will be, “Go get the health care you need when you need it. Don’t wait, don’t feel like it is not for you.”

When asked where funding was coming from, de Blasio didn’t have an answer.

The City’s plan is to boost enrollment in Metro Plus and strengthen it. MetroPlus offers free or affordable health insurance that connects insurance-eligible New Yorkers to providers.

City officials plan to reach out to low-income New Yorkers who qualify.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.