FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                           February 2, 2017

Kingston, NY- Ulster County Legislator Chris Allen, Deputy Chairman of the Public Health and Social Services Committee reported a productive meeting at the Kingston offices of Congressman John Faso where he discussed tenants of the Affordable Care Act with Faso’s aid, Ryan McAllister.

Topics included preservation of key components of the Affordable Care Act such as keeping coverage for dependent children of the primary policy holder until they reach the age of 26 and continuing non-discriminatory rates for those with pre-existing conditions.

Allen expressed concern over the practice of some corporations that have reduced full time employees to less than 30 hours to avoid the Affordable Care Act mandate requiring insurance coverage to those working more than 30 hours a week. “This practice has created a new class of working poor with no insurance coverage.” said Allen.

Allen believes that an expansion in Federal funding for sliding scale medical clinics in individual states is the answer to providing health care coverage for those who are still unable to do so under the current system.  Allen also offered specific suggestions on how to fund these changes. 

Allen also discussed the importance of reducing the cost associated with Medicare prescription coverage. “Thousands of people are faced with more out of pocket expense when they reach the prescription ‘donut hole,’” noted Allen, “and that leaves the most needy consumers vulnerable.”

Allen believes any changes to health care legislation should include lowering the threshold of deductible amounts required by some catastrophic insurance coverage. “Plans like these should also include some minimum number of wellness visits a year especially for women’s reproductive health,” urged Allen. 

“I believe health care should not be a partisan issue,” said Allen. “The complexity of the issue requires cooperation and engagement from everyone in government.”

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