RED HOOK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg came to this Brooklyn industrial neighborhood yesterday to unveil the New York City Health Insurance Link, a new web-based tool to help New Yorkers find a health insurance plan that best fits their healthcare needs and budgets.

The tool is available at www.NYC.gov and is targeted to small business owners, freelancers and other independent or unemployed workers who do not currently have health insurance coverage or are shopping for more affordable coverage.

The mayor was joined for the announcement at Uhuru Design, a custom furniture and design company, by Deputy Mayor Linda I. Gibbs; Human Resources Administration Commissioner Robert Doar; Uhuru owners Bill Hilgendorf and Jason Horvath and many other officials.

With NYC Health Insurance Link, uninsured small businesses, individuals, and freelancers can search for and compare all different kinds of health plans, including those with low and high deductibles; those with and without particular benefits like prescription drugs; and those with open and closed provider networks. The tool provides users with a full range of comprehensive health plans available in the city from every carrier, including plans available through specialized purchasing alliances.

“It’s costly and complicated to get an individual health insurance plan, so it’s extremely important that businesses in New York can offer insurance to their employees. With plans like Brooklyn Health Works, even a small business like Uhuru can easily qualify for a plan and provide insurance to all of their employees,� said Uhuru Design owner Bill Hilgendorf.

Co-owner Jason Horvath added, “Being uninsured myself for five years really showed me the value and security of having health insurance. It also helped me to realize how important it is to be able to offer it to my employees.�

NYC Health Insurance Link builds on the city’s previous innovations in promoting health insurance access such as HealthStat, its interagency collaboration targeting outreach for public health insurance, and the development of the HealthPass purchasing alliance.

The web site contains a number of tools that help individuals and small businesses explore ways to reduce the costs of coverage. For individuals, there is a calculator that allows families to determine whether combining public and private coverage could make their health insurance more affordable.

“We absolutely need Washington to act on health reform. But we can’t afford to wait for them to help more people get health insurance coverage – and we’re not,� said Bloomberg.

“Over the past several years, the city’s success in expanding and creating health insurance options for low-income New Yorkers has been unprecedented,� said HRA Commissioner Doar.

Funding for the tool was made possible by the New York State Health Foundation through a grant to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

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