Hospital Closure
Commission Update
The hospital and nursing home
closure commission, also called the Berger
Commission, released its report in December
2006 and slammed public health care
facilities. The report called for the
privatization of SUNY Upstate Medical Center
and a study of privatizing the SUNY hospitals
in Brooklyn and Stony Brook.
The report also called for the
merger of the Erie County Medical Center and
the Van Duyn Nursing Home with private sector
entities. The report did not address how
to expand health care to those in need, reduce
overall health care costs to help dislocated
health care workers find new work.
The Fight to Save Public
Health Care Continues
Thanks to CSEA lobbying the
state legislature has already indicated that
many of the proposals, including ECMC, SUNY
and Van Duyn, need to be changed legislatively
to protect the vital health care services in
those areas.
Also, several lawsuits have
been filed which have the potential to delay
implementation of the overall report for
years. One lawsuit has resulted in a
temporary injunction, which has stopped
implementation of the Berger report.
CSEA will continue to lobby
the health officials of the Spitzer
administration who will have a tremendous
amount of influence over how this report gets
implemented.
President
Donohue, CSEA Activists Slam Commission Report
CSEA activist from around the state
immediately began rallying and lobbying their
legislators about the devastating impact that this
report would have on health care in their area and
patients who need care.
CSEA President Danny Donohue slammed
the report and called for the legislature to protect
these public health care facilities that provide
safety net services and serve those who are
uninsured and underinsured.
A New Congress in Washington
With the Democrats taking control of
both houses of Congress in Washington, CSEA and
AFSCME are stepping up its lobbying efforts for a
pro-worker agenda over the next couple of
months. Increasing health care and education
funding for New York State, protecting and enforcing
worksite safety and removing unfair barriers that
stop workers from joining unions are among the top
priorities.
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Myths |
Facts |
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All Americans will be
required to join a government run health
insurance plan. |
No one will be forced to
join a public health insurance plan.
You will make your own decision
regarding what plan you are in - if you
are happy with your plan now, no one
will force you to leave it. |
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A government panel will
decide who lives and who dies. |
No panel will decide who
lives, dies, or receives critical care.
What the bill does allow is for people
to meet with their doctors to discuss
end life care and what their wishes are.
This practice is currently covered by
Medicaid. |
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Private health insurance
plans will be eliminated because of
these reforms. |
Reforms will not
eliminate private health insurance
plans. In fact, private health
insurance will be strengthened by
allowing more Americans to afford
private health insurance. In
addition, inclusion of a public option
will force insurance companies to become
more competitive. |
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Reforms will cause higher
health insurance costs. |
No, in fact costs will be
lowered by ensuring everyone has
insurance. Currently, most
everyone pays an additional $1,200
annually for health care to cover
uncompensated care for others. |
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I will be told what
doctors to see and will not be able to
receive care as quickly as I do now. |
Nothing in HR 3200 limits
your choices for doctors. You can
see the doctors you want to, including
specialists and other medical
professionals. HR 3200 leaves
these choices up to you. |
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Do Not believe the
lies about health insurance reforms!
Stay informed about the health care
debate. |
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President Obama's proposed health insurance reform:
Myth:
I will lose my current health insurance plan
because of this reform.
Fact: No! You
will not lose your insurance. Reforms will
have no affect on how your insurance operates and
how you utilize it. For active employees all
change must be negotiated. For retirees,
Medicare does not change but will be enhanced to get
rid of a donut-hole for prescription drugs.
Myth: Since I
have health insurance I have no reason to support
reforms.
Fact: Even though you may have insurance,
reform will still benefit you. Once
implemented, this reform will help to decrease
premiums for American by controlling sky rocking
health care costs. This reform will help
employers maintain insurance for their employees
because it will be more affordable.
Myth: Health
care reform can be achieved without having a "public
option."
Fact: A public option is necessary in
order to help to make health insurance affordable
for all Americans. The public option gives
those who can afford insurance the ability to obtain
quality insurance at a reasonable cost. It
serves as a balancing force against big health care
insurers. They will be forced to offer more
competitive health care policies at a more
reasonable cost. The public option will foster
competition with private insurers to control the
cost of health care premiums.
Myth: This
reform will ration care and will stop those who are
ill from receiving necessary care.
Fact: There is
nothing in this proposal that would lead to the
rationing of care. In fact, the reforms
contained in the bill would lessen the rationing of
care that happens today. Insurance companies
will not be able to retroactively cancel enrollees'
insurance policies when they become sick or refuse
to cover pre-existing conditions.
Myth: These
reforms will end private insurance plans.
Fact: No! In
fact, the Congressional Budget Office shows that the
number of people with private health insurance
provided through their employer will increase with
these reforms. This is because insurance
policies should become more affordable due to these
reforms.
Myth: We can not afford this reform! Our
deficit is only going to grow even more.
Fact: HR 3200 is
100% paid for through a combination of a tax
surcharge on those who make more than $350,000,
eliminating billions of dollars in subsidies given
to private insurance companies and a payroll tax on
employees who fail to provide health insurance to
employees.
Myth: Death panels will decide who
receives care and who dies.
Fact: Not even
close! The bill expands an already existing
practice for doctors to be reimbursed for meeting
with patients who want to discuss end of life care.
These discussions can range from living wills and
advance directives, to options for end of life care,
including hospice. There is no requirement for
a patient to have this meeting with their doctor.
Myth: Reform
will lead to massive job loss by requiring employers
to provide coverage.
Fact: This bill
exempts small business from being required to prvide
health insurance if their payroll is lower than
$250,000 - this is over 75% of employers.
Extremely small business who wish to give health
insurance benefits to employees will be assisted
with subsidies to help pay for coverage for their
employees. Businesses with payrolls above
$250,000 would be required to either provide
coverage or pay a penalty of up to 8% of payroll.
Myth:
HR 3200 will allow illegal aliens to
receive free health insurance
Fact: HR 3200
explicitly prohibits illegal aliens from receiving
any federal dollars to subsidize health insurance.
