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Today, Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) highlighted new analysis that shows hundreds of thousands of people in New York’s 20^th Congressional District are already benefiting from the Affordable Care Act. These new numbers released today coincide with this morning’s New York Times report that shows the Affordable Care Act will cause insurance premiums to fall 50 percent for New Yorkers buying plans on their own.

“Millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in our neck of the woods, are already benefiting from the Affordable Care Act, and these benefits will continue to roll in as the law is implemented over the next year and state exchanges go online,” said Tonko. “As House Republicans vote this week for the 38^th time to repeal or delay portions of the law, I once again urge them to work with us to improve it as we work toward a shared goal of improving health care outcomes and lowering costs for our families and businesses.”

Residents of New York’s 20^th Congressional District – which includes all of Albany and Schenectady counties and parts of Montgomery, Saratoga, and Rensselaer counties – have already received critical protections and savings from the health care law, including:

• 6,500 young adults now have health insurance through their parents’ plan.
• More than 12,100 seniors received prescription drug discounts worth $16 million, an average discount of $610 per person in 2011, $650 in 2012, and $290 so far in 2013.
• 124,000 seniors are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles.
• 223,000 New Yorkers – including 42,000 children and 95,000 women – now have health insurance that covers preventive services without paying co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles.
• 227,000 New Yorkers have saved money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. This “80-20” rule saved 43,600 consumers $5.1 million in insurance company rebates in 2011 and 2012.
• Up to 37,000 children with preexisting conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers.
• 262,000New Yorkers now have health insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014.
• 49,000 New Yorkers who lack insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of rate hikes due to preexisting conditions.
• 31,000 New Yorkers who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance.

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