Join a growing list of endorsers including the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics-District II, Doctors Council/SEIU, Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU, National Physicians Alliance-NY, Doctors for America-NY, 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East, IATSE Local One, New York State Nurses Association and the New York State AFL-CIO. 

We urge the New York State Assembly and Senate to enact Assembly bill A. 5062 (Gottfried)/Senate bill S. 3525 (Perkins)

WHEREAS, Every person in New York State and in all the United States deserves access to affordable, quality health care; and

WHEREAS, There is a growing crisis in health care in the United States of America, manifested in rising health care costs, increased premiums, out-of-pocket spending, decreased international business competitive-ness, and massive layoffs; and

WHEREAS, As of May of 2009, approximately 2.6 million New Yorkers lack health insurance; and

WHEREAS, Those uninsured now often experience unacceptable medical debt and sometimes life threatening delays in obtaining health care; and

WHEREAS, Sixty percent of all personal bankruptcies are linked to medical bills; and

WHEREAS, The increasing expense of Medicaid and the rising costs of insuring state employees and teachers can best be met not by limiting benefits, but by eliminating the administrative waste and profiteering created by the private health insurance industry which consumes approximately 30 percent of the United States’ health care spending; and

WHEREAS, the New York State Legislature appropriated funds for a state-sponsored cost benefit analysis of the various ways the state could provide health care to all its residents. The Governor's report concluded while providing universal comprehensive quality health care, a single-payer system is the only plan that would reduce health spending billions annually by 2019 below projected levels; and

WHEREAS, Senator Perkins and Assemblyman Gottfried have introduced the New York Health bill, A. 5062 / S. 3525, which if implemented would provide a universal, comprehensive, single-payer system of high quality health insurance for all New Yorkers with their choice of medical provider regardless of their health, income or employment status; and

WHEREAS, In adopting a state single-payer plan, New York would be following the path being pursued in other states such as Vermont and California to develop universal health care alternatives to the recent federal legislation which is expected to maintain costly private insurance that does not end medical bankruptcies and denials of necessary care, now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the New York State legislature be and hereby is respectfully memorialized to enact A. 5062 / S. 3525 the New York Health bill.

Submit endorsements to [email protected] or mail to PNHP NY Metro 220 5th Ave, 2nd Floor NY, NY 10001