Health Care Must Be New Governor’s First Priority
UHCEF Article of Interest
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Nathan Shinagawa
The Ithaca Journal (click here for link to the original article)
In 1932, Governor of New York Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the presidency with 57 percent of the vote and the electorate of all but six states. Voters and lawmakers alike united behind his leadership. Within the first 100 days of office, Roosevelt enacted sweeping legislation that reformed Wall Street, provided jobs and brought electricity to millions of Americans. Two years later came FDR’s greatest policy achievement and the creation of our country’s most vital social program: Social Security. His legacy lives on today.
New Yorkers are now struggling with strained communities, a lack of good jobs and the weariness of being without health insurance. They hope that a government of and for the people will wake up from its sleepy inattentiveness, in this second Gilded Age of America, and once again rise by providing the safety nets and opportunities that make a decent life in this country possible. I and many others believe that the next governor, like FDR in his first 100 days, can make this kind of government a reality and work swiftly to alleviate the daily hardships that burden the people of New York.
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Perhaps no such issue resonates with New Yorkers as does the need for decent and affordable health care. Statewide there are approximately 3 million uninsured people and another 3 million who are underinsured. Nationwide that number approaches 50 million. In Tompkins County alone, the enrollment of people in Medicaid has gone from 7,000 to 9,500 in just a few years, resulting in millions more dollars in costs to local taxpayers in the form of regressive property taxes. While the costs of health care continue to skyrocket, hospitals throughout the state are operating in the red and many have closed altogether. Increasingly, accountants more than doctors make decisions about the kind of care options that are available to people. Overall, New Yorkers spend billions more than they should for inadequate health coverage that fails to cover millions of people, provide needed services, and keep costs under control.
Throughout New York state people are calling for comprehensive and sweeping reform of health care beyond band-aids to a failing system. Some want a new model and a more dynamic approach. Many want a new system all together. Such a proposal has been sponsored and passed many times in the State Assembly since its first adoption in 1992: the New York Health plan (A. 6576) — a statewide universal single payer system.
New York Health is a single-payer system that eliminates the waste and confusion that comes with having dozens of private insurance companies, each with their own accounting methods, fee system and billing rules. The plan is economical because it puts everyone under a unified, comprehensive and managed system. No longer will the public need to spend $465 million a year in uncompensated care for the uninsured, much of which we all pay for in local and state taxes and additional hospital fees. Instead, the New York Health plan will take advantage of economies of scale in price negotiations, keep hospitals running, eliminate inefficiency, and establish progressive prices based on one’s ability to pay.
The Tompkins County Workers’ Center and I have hope that the next governor will be the defining force in the creation of a universal single-payer system in New York. Just as FDR led the country out of its weary sadness and into an era of prosperity for generations of Americans, we are confident that the next governor will work in his first session to bring hope back to millions of New York families who are struggling with the need for decent and affordable health care.
Today — Tuesday, Sept. 26 — I will join with the Workers’ Center, UAW, the Cornell Organization for Labor Action and a broad coalition of community organizations for a rally on The Commons at 3:30 p.m., and a march up to Cornell at 4:30 p.m. for a 5:30 p.m. rally in front of Bailey Hall preceding the New York State Gubernatorial debate at 7 p.m. We are committed to having 500 people outside the debate to show our support our support for a single-payer, universal health care system before our Gubernatorial candidates. Please join with us!
Nathan Shinagawa lives in Ithaca. He represents the Fourth District in the Tompkins County Legislature.
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