My children have this insurance. It's great because ANYONE can apply like you said. Not just "poor" people. If you are over the income limit, you just pay the premium which is FAR less than what it would cost to get private insurance. No co-pays, no deductibles and you get to pick which plan you want. The only issue I have now is that the local hospital and HUGE network of doctors no longer takes the United Healthcare Americhoice plan so I had to switch my son's hematologist. Not a biggie, but if you are in NY, I would probably opt for a different plan because they are forever having problems with contracts not being renewed. My daughter has the Blue Cross plan and we have never had issues with that one.