To the Editor:

As some readers may know, last Wednesday, January 31st, was the end of the open enrollment period for the NY State of Health insurance exchange. I hope all those that were looking for coverage were able to find it.

Yet the Village provided no notice during the entire Affordable Care Act enrollment period–from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31.

The Croton United administration cannot plead ignorance on this issue. I mentioned the health insurance exchange deadline at two Board meetings, and in two e-mails and two memos to the Board over the course of the open enrollment period.

The refusal to provide any information to Village residents regarding the NY healthcare exchange draws unsettling parallels with the Trump administration’s cancellation of enrollment outreach for the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

The Croton United administration also ignored suggestions that we provide a reminder regarding the Medicare open enrollment period, which ended in December. In contrast, the Town of Cortlandt organized an information session on Medicare last year. But our Village administration is apparently incapable of even sending an e-mail (or including an item in our monthly newsletter–since the Mayor cancelled the monthly newsletter all together last spring).

This is particularly shocking given that our current Mayor is a healthcare provider.

The Village government’s inaction is all the more unfortunate in the context of the Village’s uninsured rate. According to the latest census data, more than 1 in 10 residents lack health insurance–above the state and national averages.

We have to do better and we can do better.