New York Universal Health Care Options Campaign

For Immediate Release
For More Info: Mark Dunlea 518 434-7371
Mark Hannay, 212 925-1829

Support Grows for Legislative Commission to Develop Comprehensive Solution
to New York’s Health Care Crisis

Consumers, Doctors, Nurses, Labor and Government Officials Say
Time to move beyond Perennial ‘Medicaid Fight’

(Albany, NY) – Over 250 diverse organizations from across New York applauded the introduction of The Legislative Commission on Health Care Coverage Act of 2005 (A.6575) by Health Committee chair Richard Gottfried. The Commission proposal is already co-sponsored by some forty members of the Assembly. It would establish a joint Senate-Assembly bipartisan panel to, over a two-year period, look at ways to expand quality health care coverage to all New York residents. The groups are seeking $500,000 in the State Budget to fund the Commission’s work.

”The legislation is the product of a unique collaboration between anti-poverty and health care advocates,” stated Mark Dunlea, Associate Director of Hunger Action Network of NYS. “Rather than promote a particular policy solution at the outset, its purpose is to create and drive a statewide political process to engage both citizens and stakeholders in developing options for the state to move toward health for all and overcome problems of the current system. We applaud Assemblymember Gottfried and his colleagues for taking leadership on this. We look forward to a positive response from Senate Hannon and other Senate Republicans, as well as from the business community.”

"This is a very important and long overdue initiative, one which I urge the NYS senate and assembly to pass. While the US Congress should be passing legislation like this, State action can also help to move the agenda forward. It remains an incredible embarrassment for this country, in being the only country, among western developed countries, in which all citizens are not provided access to primary medical care. In the U.S. some 14-15% of the total population is without insurance coverage (or over 40 million people). Perhaps, through this legislation, New York State can lead the way the necessary reforms," added Dr. Allan Rosenfield the Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.

The Commission mirrors a successful strategy that has been utilized in other states such as Maine, California and Maryland. The Commission proposal has been endorsed by more than 250 organizations, including the NYS Nurses Association, NYPIRG, Physicians for a National Health Plan (NY), Rekindling Reform, Hunger Action Network of NYS, Capital District Area Labor Federation, SEIU 1199, Community Service Society, American Medical Student Association (Albany Med and Cornell), Rochester Interfaith Health Coalition, ES2, SENSES, NASW NYS, UJA Federation of NY, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, Public Health Association of NYC, Professional Staff Congress (CUNY), Congress of Senior Citizens, Metro Health NY, Western NY Health Care Campaign, NYS Health Care Campaign, Citizen Action, Working Families Party, StateWide Senior Action, Housing Works and SCAA.

"This legislation has the potential to move New York State closer towards developing a system of universal health care coverage," said Jennifer Cunningham, Executive Vice President of 1199 SEIU, the largest union of health care employees in NY. "It's one of the most creative suggestions to provoke real dialogue that we have seen in quite awhile. New York's number one health care problem is the lack of healthcare coverage for millions of New Yorkers. This glaring failure creates a myriad of problems for health care consumers and providers, including later and more costly treatment for uninsured patients, a greater burden on providers of charity care, and cost shifting to taxpayers who must foot the bill for care for the uninsured."

The proposal would do a far better job of saving money for New York taxpayers than the various proposed caps on local contributions to Mediciad costs. The proposed caps, while correctly addressing the unfairness of paying for health care through regressive local property and sales tax, do little to address the fundamental problems in the state’s health care system. We need to control costs while improving the quality and accessibility of our health care services.

Tim Joseph, Chairperson of the Tompkins County Legislature, noted that “in every forum and on every topic I seem to find myself dealing with health care issues. Whether it's state mandates on counties, employee contract negotiations, livable wages, economic development, hiring a consultant, dealing with the homeless, or controlling jail costs, I keep finding myself talking about health care. A single universal health care system would eliminate half of what we struggle and argue over,” stated Joseph.

A legislative commission on health coverage reform would be created to examine, evaluate, and make recommendations concerning mechanisms for providing comprehensive, affordable, quality health coverage to all New Yorkers while simultaneously controlling costs and ensuring freedom of choice for consumers. It would be charged with exploring both publicly-financed approaches as well as how to expand on private sector ones.

“In an era when national health care reform from Washington seems bleak, we’re glad to see a serious proposal for New York to join the pack of states who are out front, trying to break out of the box politically on health care,” said Mark Hannay, co-chair of the New York State Health Care Campaign. “California has taken similar steps along with Maine, and now Illinois is likewise moving forward. New York has always been innovative too, and we welcome Assemblymember Gottfried’s initiative for our state to take a similar approach. We call on the bill’s sponsors to assure that the Commission receives the full $500,000 it needs to do its work during the current budget negotiations with the Senate and the Governor.”

Many doctors and other health care providers are calling for an overhaul of the state’s health care system. "Physicians today are extremely frustrated with the obstacles they encounter in trying to provide the care their patients need. That's why more and more doctors have come out in favor of real change in the health care system in the United States. PNHP wholeheartedly supports this bill because it opens up the conversation we need in New York State to begin to achieve meaningful health care reform,” said Joanne Landy, MPH, Executive Director, New York Metro Chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.

The proposal has received strong support from faith groups across the state. "There is an unfortunate developing mosaic of health care need with middle class and suburban people as the new uninsured. This bill will allow our legislators to study the dysfunction of our health care system and provide directions toward solutions," said Sr. Beth LeValley of the Rochester Interfaith Health Care Coalition.

“There is an increasing number of small churches across New York State who cannot afford to hire even part time pastors, because the cost of providing health insurance for our pastors has become so difficult to bear. At the same time there is an increasing number of people in our pews who themselves forgo decent health care either because they have no insurance at all, or because they must choose between paying rising co-pay amounts or putting food on their tables. As a representative of nearly 10,000 Presbyterians in the Capital area alone, I strongly support the Legislative Commission on Health Care Coverage Act. It's time to look at all the options and take action to enact universal health care for New York State,” added the Rev. Cass L. Shaw, General Presbyter, Albany Presbytery.