We are in the home stretch of the 2021 New York State Legislative Session, with the NY Health Act now counting majority support in both houses. At this critical time, as we continue to organize to get across the finish line, we’re asking you, our loyal supporters, to help keep our efforts strong!
Our 2021 Single Payer Champions are:
- Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
- Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, Co-Chair, Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
- Cheryl Kunis, MD, MS (in Bioethics), Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; clinical nephrologist; Board member of PNHP - NY Metro
Ways you can help grow this movement for health justice:
1. Making a one-time donation to support our work by visiting: https://www.pnhpnymetro.org/honorees2021_donate
2. Become a monthly sustainer to support our ongoing programming by visiting: https://www.pnhpnymetro.org/honorees2021_recurring
3. Buy a face mask! Shop here: www.bit.ly/m4amasks
Forum: DON’T LET NEW YORK CITY TAKE AWAY YOUR MEDICARE!
Thursday, June 17 - 7:00 PM EST
You can join this Zoom event by phone or computer.
Closed captions will be available.
Event will be recorded, with video link sent to all registrants.
New York City, in an effort to save money on its employee benefits, is negotiating with the City labor unions to move its retirees and their family members from public Medicare to a private Medicare Advantage plan. They did not consult, or even inform, the 250,000 retirees and their families before adopting this policy change, which will require them to accept a private Medicare Advantage Plan with its limited choice of doctors and hospitals, as well as its co-pays and requirements for prior insurer approval of many treatments. Medicare Advantage plans are a good deal for healthy seniors, but they can become expensive and restrictive with limited options when serious illness strikes.
Both the Mayor and the City Council have previously declared their support for the NY Health Act, which would create a publicly-funded health care system and save the City billions of dollars. This progressive legislation which, for the first time, has majority support in both NY State Senate and Assembly, would provide all New Yorkers, and those who work full-time in New York, with more comprehensive and affordable health care than any now enjoy. It would expand far beyond what Medicare now covers including hearing, vision, dental, and long-term care. By eliminating the expensive private insurance middleman, it would save New York State (including NYC) billions and contain future costs as well.
This forum will examine the City’s plan for its retirees and contrast it with what will be possible with the New York Health Act.
Click here for the statement that PNHP - NY Metro is issuing today denouncing this roll-back of access to affordable healthcare, hard won by the union movement. A campaign is developing to demand that the Mayor block this destructive move. If you'd like to help, or have questions, please email [email protected].
SEE ALSO:
- PNHP financial analysis "City’s Plan Will Reduce Retiree Health Care by 24%" here.
- PNPH press release including statements from physicians here.
Visit the PNHP-NY Metro shop: www.bit.ly/m4amasks
Recent Online Educational Forums
CLICK HERE for videos and written information related to our:
- May 2021: Substance Use and Single Payer: Connecting the Dots
- April 2021: Why Hospitals & the People They Serve Should Support Single Payer & the NY Health Act
- March 2021: Achieving Healthcare for All: The NY Health Act for a Just COVID Recovery
- February 2021: Invest In Our New York: Education, Housing, Food, Jobs, & Health
- January 2021: Unequal Treatment: The Unjust Death of Dr. Susan Moore
- November 2020: COVID-19, Long-Term Care, Single-Payer & the Elections
- June 2020:COVID Capitalism and the Fight for Health Care Justice and Societal Transformation
- May 2020: Combatting COVID & Building Resilience: Health, Jobs, & Homes
- April 2020: The Roles of Racism & For-Profit Healthcare in Pandemic Response Failures
Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is a single-issue organization advocating a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health program. PNHP has 22,000 members and over 50 chapters across the United States.
Since 1987, we've advocated for reform in the U.S. health care system. We educate physicians and other health professionals about the benefits of a single-payer system--including fewer administrative costs and affording health insurance for the 30 million Americans who have none.
Our members and physician activists work toward a single-payer national health program in their communities. PNHP performs ground breaking research on the health crisis and the need for fundamental reform, coordinates speakers and forums, participates in town hall meetings and debates, contributes scholarly articles to peer-reviewed medical journals, and appears regularly on national television and news programs advocating for a single-payer system.
PNHP is the only national physician organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to implementing a single-payer national health program.