MetroPlus announces
city agency partnership
MetroPlus Health, the
health insurance plan preferred
by more than 500,000
New Yorkers, today announced
partnerships with
the NYC Department of Probation
and the NYC Department
of Small Business Services
(SBS) to provide New Yorkers
who interact with the two
agencies information about its
affordable health insurance
plan and encourage them to
enroll. Starting this month,
MetroPlus will deploy over
two-dozen enrollment specialists
to do on-site outreach, education
and enrollment at six
Probation offi ces and 18 new
SBS Workforce 1 and Business
Solution Career Centers.
These government agency offi
ces serve nearly 55,000 New
Yorkers every year. This new
collaboration between the
city’s public option health plan
and city agencies supports the
Executive Order signed by
Mayor Bill de Blasio in January
requiring city agencies
to enroll people in insurance
anywhere where New Yorkers
are directly served.
The new strategic partnerships
with city agencies is one
more way in which MetroPlus
is redeploying resources to
support New York City’s commitment
to guarantee health
care to all New Yorkers. The
fi ve-star health plan is the
low-cost, high-quality health
insurance plan of the NYC
Health + Hospitals and growing
its membership is part
of the public health system’s
comprehensive, multi-year redesign
to build a competitive,
sustainable organization that
will continue to offer highquality
and accessible health
care to the people of New York
City.
“Throughout our nearly
35-year history, MetroPlus
has been committed to increasing
access to affordable,
quality health insurance to
all New Yorkers,” said Roger
Milliner, chief growth offi cer
of MetroPlus. “We are excited
to step up our traditional marketing
and outreach efforts by
partnering with these two city
agencies who share our commitment
to connect more New
Yorkers to affordable health
insurance and the quality
health care services available
to them through MetroPlus.”
“The wellness of people on
probation is an agency priority,
and health care access has
long been a staple within our
Neighborhood Opportunity
Network, community-based
(NeON) offi ces,” said NYC
Probation Commissioner Ana
M. Bermúdez Esq. “We are
excited to continue this work
as part of the Mayor’s ‘Health
Care for All’ initiative.”
“Under Mayor de Blasio’s
leadership, New Yorkers can
now easily access affordable
healthcare options through
companies like MetroPlus
while receiving no-cost supportive
services at our NYC
Business Solutions Centers
and Workforce1 Career Centers,”
said Gregg Bishop,
Commissioner of the NYC Department
of Small Business
Services. “By making affordable
healthcare more accessible
to New York City’s small
business owners and jobseekers,
we’re helping to create a
healthier economy.”
“Health insurance is a
basic need which too many
New Yorkers are living without.
This partnership will
undoubtedly increase enrollment
in some of our most vulnerable
BRONX TIMES R 42 EPORTER, APRIL 5-11, 2019 BTR
communities and is
a great step forward in improving
overall health outcomes
in the fi ve boroughs,”
said Bronx Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. “I thank
MetroPlus for their support
of this important initiative
and the NYC Department of
Probation and the NYC Department
of Small Business
Services for facilitating these
outreach efforts.”
“Ensuring New Yorkers
are enrolled in Health Insurance
is imperative to keeping
New Yorkers health,” said New
York City Council Health Committee
Chair Mark Levine.
“This new collaboration between
the city’s public option
health plan and city agencies
will foster greater enrollment
at the places where New Yorkers
are already receiving City
services. I’m grateful to the administration
and Health and
Hospitals for taking on this
initiative, and look forward to
seeing its positive results in
the months to come.
MetroPlus will partner
with the NYC Department of
Probation on several outreach
and enrollment initiatives, including:
• On-site marketing at six
new Probation Offi ces that
served approximately 25,000
New Yorkers every year.
• Staff education sessions
to increase awareness among
Probation employees about
the city’s efforts to connect
more people to health insurance
and be able to direct clients
to MetroPlus reps.
• Cross advertising on digital
and social media platforms
MetroPlus will partner
with the NYC Department of
Small Business Services on a
variety of programs, including:
• On-site marketing at 18
SBS Workforce1 Career Centers,
which connect more than
25,000 New Yorkers to employment
and nearly 4,000 New
Yorkers with the training
needed to advance their careers
annually;
• On-site marketing at
seven SBS NYC Business Solutions
Centers, which served
nearly 10,000 businesses during
fi scal year 2018;
• Staff orientation sessions;
• Marketing at SBS Career
Fairs;
• Joint marketing materials
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa launched the tenth anniversary edition
trade paperback edition of her novel ‘Daughters of the Stone’ on
Friday, March 15 at the Andrew Freedman Home providing her the
right atmosphere and space to bring her readers, friends and
colleagues for a long overdue celebration.
to use on website, kiosks,
mailings, email and text campaigns.
MetroPlus offers eligible
New Yorkers a wide selection
of health insurance options,
with affordable fees and copays
based on income and
family size. The most popular
plans include:
• Medicaid – low or no cost
plan for low income children
and adults up to 64 yrs old
• Medicare – low or no cost
plan for adults 64 yrs old+
• Child Health Plus – low or
no cost plan for children under
19 regardless of immigration
status
• Essential Plan – for adults
19-64 yrs old not eligible for
Medicaid, offering monthly
premiums of $0 - $20 based on
income
• Qualifi ed Health Plan
– for eligible New York City
residents, offering cost share
reductions that lower out of
pocket costs
• Partnership in Care (HIV
Special Needs Plan) – for children
and adults who are New
York City, Medicaid-eligible
residents living with HIV/
Aids
• MetroPlus Gold – for New
York City employees and their
families, with no premiums,
no copays, no deductibles.
MetroPlus also offers special
membership benefi ts that
include:
• Gym Reimbursement –
members of select plans and
their spouses can save up to
$1,000 in gym fees every year
• Member Rewards program
– members can earn
points for completing health
and wellness activities and
redeem them for hundreds of
popular items from our catalogue
• Annual Wellness Visits -
annual exam that helps members
and their providers collaborate
on a personalized
plan of care.
• MetroPlus earned an
overall rating of fi ve stars,
the highest possible score, in
the New York State Department
of Health’s recently released
“2018 Consumer’s
Guide to Medicaid and Child
Health Plus Managed Care
Plans in New York City.” The
State’s guide is an annual rating
of managed care plans on
quality of care delivered and
members’ satisfaction with
the care and services they receive.
MetroPlus is one of only
two plans serving New York
City to achieve the highest
state rating this year.
Health insurance is a basic need which
too many New Yorkers are living without.
This partnership will undoubtedly
increase enrollment in some of our most
vulnerable communities and is a great
step forward in improving overall health
outcomes in the fi ve boroughs.
Ruben Diaz, Jr.
Borough President
READING OF ‘DAUGHTERS OF THE STONE’
(Above) Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa (r) with literary agent Marie
Dutton Brown, who is securing a home for Dahlma’s second novel,
‘A Woman of Endurance.’ Photo by Isabelle Cotte