THE OPPOSITION
Who's Against the New York Health Act, and What They Are Saying
Way back in November 15, 2018 -- in these eventful times, it seems like ages ago -- Carol and I joined the PICKET THE PROFITEERS activists to picket the annual conference of the New York Health Plan Association, a trade association for the state's health insurance companies. Some of our chief antagonists were -- and are -- Eric Linzer, President of the NYHPA, Heather Briccetti, President of the BCNYS (Business Council of New York State), Matt Eyles, CEO of America's Health Plans, the national lobby group for the insurance industry, and Kipp Snyder, a vice president of PhRMA, the lobby group for the pharmaceutical industry.
Also present were leaders of the so-called "realities" coalition mainly of business interests:
Bond Benefits Consulting, Inc, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, The Business Council of New York State, Inc. Opposition Memo, Business Council of Westchester Opposition Memo, CAP COM Federal Credit Union, Capital Region Chamber of Commerce Opposition Memo, Centers Health Care, Century Benefits Group, Inc., Chemung County Chamber of Commerce, Columbian Mutual Life, Insurance Company, Consiliarium Group, LLC, Corning Area Chamber of Commerce, Crisafulli Bros. Plumbing & Heating Contractors, Inc., DiVirgilio Benefit Resources, LLC, Dupli Envelope, Employer Alliance Opposition Memo, Food Industry Alliance of New York State, Inc. Opposition Memo, Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce. Greater Central New York Association of Health, underwriters, Greater Niagara Frontier New York Association of Health Underwriters, Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, The Hilliard Corporation, Kaatirondack Benefit Planning, Inc., Matt Industries, Mohawk Valley EDGE, National Federation of Independent Businesses Opposition Memo, New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, New York Health Plan Association Opposition Memo. New York State Association of Health Underwriters Opposition Memo, New York State Building & Construction Trades Council, New York State Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans Opposition Memo, New York State Professional Fire Fighters Association, New York State Society of Plastic Surgeons, North Country Chamber of Commerce, North Eastern New York Association of Health Underwriters, Pathfinder Bank, Perry & Carroll Inc., Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Pinnacle Human Resources, LLC, Rockland Business Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association, Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State, LLC, The Agency, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York. Unshackle Upstate Opposition Memo, Welliver McGuire, Inc.
Why am I rehearsing all this? One of my readers suggested I post the names of some of the opposition. There are a lot of them! The so-called "realities coalition" have their own web site:Also present were leaders of the so-called "realities" coalition mainly of business interests:
Bond Benefits Consulting, Inc, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, The Business Council of New York State, Inc. Opposition Memo, Business Council of Westchester Opposition Memo, CAP COM Federal Credit Union, Capital Region Chamber of Commerce Opposition Memo, Centers Health Care, Century Benefits Group, Inc., Chemung County Chamber of Commerce, Columbian Mutual Life, Insurance Company, Consiliarium Group, LLC, Corning Area Chamber of Commerce, Crisafulli Bros. Plumbing & Heating Contractors, Inc., DiVirgilio Benefit Resources, LLC, Dupli Envelope, Employer Alliance Opposition Memo, Food Industry Alliance of New York State, Inc. Opposition Memo, Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce. Greater Central New York Association of Health, underwriters, Greater Niagara Frontier New York Association of Health Underwriters, Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, The Hilliard Corporation, Kaatirondack Benefit Planning, Inc., Matt Industries, Mohawk Valley EDGE, National Federation of Independent Businesses Opposition Memo, New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, New York Health Plan Association Opposition Memo. New York State Association of Health Underwriters Opposition Memo, New York State Building & Construction Trades Council, New York State Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans Opposition Memo, New York State Professional Fire Fighters Association, New York State Society of Plastic Surgeons, North Country Chamber of Commerce, North Eastern New York Association of Health Underwriters, Pathfinder Bank, Perry & Carroll Inc., Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Pinnacle Human Resources, LLC, Rockland Business Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association, Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State, LLC, The Agency, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York. Unshackle Upstate Opposition Memo, Welliver McGuire, Inc.
PHEW!
Here they lay out in lurid detail what they want us to believe are the consequences of single payer: "Staggering Tax Increases -- Job Loss -- Government Run Healthcare".
Of course their claims are at best distortions, and at worst outright lies. For example, while there would be tax increases, they would be largely offset by reductions in personal expenses. No matter what your condition, you wouldn't be charged a thing at the door, and you would be taxed progressively according to your income: Most of us would pay much less for healthcare, and only the richest would pay more -- which they could well afford. In fact, New York State would save a bunch of money through reductions in bureaucratic overhead -- Medicare now enjoys an overhead of merely 2 or 3 percent, in contrast to the overhead suffered by private insurance companies -- which is in excess of 13 percent -- not to mention the many, many millions paid to top esecutives. And this, of course is the secret of the vehement opposition. Some people feel they stand to lose a lot -- in money and in perquisites, when our healthcare system ceases to be driven by profit.
Look: If you were a healthcare exec paid 25+ millions of dollars a year (there are such people!) would you be willing to give all that up without a fight? I daresay not.
Surely, there are a lot of reasons to be afraid of anything new. People thought that Medicare would bring on catastrophe, or at best, socialism. Of course, neither happened.
Of course there are legitimate reasons for apprehension: Workers who are lucky enough to belong to unions which give them so-called "Cadillac" health insurance plans fear that they might have to do with less than what they currently enjoy. But there are ways around that. too.
But those who are invested in the primacy of profits will fight against it with every dollar at their disposal -- and they have a lot of dollars to fight with! Only today I learned from an article by Carl Gibson in GritPost that Pharma and Insurance gave $43 million to Democrats not backing Medicare For All.
The report stated that the Rep in my district was paid $76,579 from these interests -- which didn't surprise me at all. From the time he started running, he has made no secret of his opposition to Single Payer. And, since 1989, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been paid an awesome $1,029,375 from the healthcare industrial establishment. She too isn't thrilled with Single Payer. Are these mere coincidences, or is there somehow a connection between the payments and the positions? You decide.
Follow the money, follow the money! But the money doesn't always lead to compromise and corruption. I know for a fact that some moneyed folks out there are for Single Payer. Some of them see our current situation -- where a full fifth of our GNP goes for healthcare -- as unsustainable, and is putting us in an increasingly disadvantageous situation competing with the rest of the industrialized world, which gets more health care and better outcomes with half the expense. And some want to give back to a country to which they owe so much. There even are some who are appalled at the immorality of what's going on, and answer "YES!" to the question, "Am I my brother's keeper?"
I know a young woman (at my age, most women seem young) who keeps saying that if something seems good and true, keep fighting for it!
I think so, too. We've come too far, and the cause is too worthy, to simply lie down and give up.
Fight on!
Dio.
PS: If you'd like to leave a comment -- and I encourage you to do so -- simply click on the "number of comments" area, and share your thoughts in the "comment rectangle" that appears.
PPS: We know that there are plenty out there who have stories to tell -- stories of your trying to cope with our dysfunctional healthcare system. Trouble is, we don't know what these stories are! That's where you come in. If you have a story to tell, you can email me at indivisible12401@gmail.com. You can be as anonymous as you like. Thanks!
Look: If you were a healthcare exec paid 25+ millions of dollars a year (there are such people!) would you be willing to give all that up without a fight? I daresay not.
Surely, there are a lot of reasons to be afraid of anything new. People thought that Medicare would bring on catastrophe, or at best, socialism. Of course, neither happened.
Of course there are legitimate reasons for apprehension: Workers who are lucky enough to belong to unions which give them so-called "Cadillac" health insurance plans fear that they might have to do with less than what they currently enjoy. But there are ways around that. too.
But those who are invested in the primacy of profits will fight against it with every dollar at their disposal -- and they have a lot of dollars to fight with! Only today I learned from an article by Carl Gibson in GritPost that Pharma and Insurance gave $43 million to Democrats not backing Medicare For All.
The report stated that the Rep in my district was paid $76,579 from these interests -- which didn't surprise me at all. From the time he started running, he has made no secret of his opposition to Single Payer. And, since 1989, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been paid an awesome $1,029,375 from the healthcare industrial establishment. She too isn't thrilled with Single Payer. Are these mere coincidences, or is there somehow a connection between the payments and the positions? You decide.
Follow the money, follow the money! But the money doesn't always lead to compromise and corruption. I know for a fact that some moneyed folks out there are for Single Payer. Some of them see our current situation -- where a full fifth of our GNP goes for healthcare -- as unsustainable, and is putting us in an increasingly disadvantageous situation competing with the rest of the industrialized world, which gets more health care and better outcomes with half the expense. And some want to give back to a country to which they owe so much. There even are some who are appalled at the immorality of what's going on, and answer "YES!" to the question, "Am I my brother's keeper?"
I know a young woman (at my age, most women seem young) who keeps saying that if something seems good and true, keep fighting for it!
I think so, too. We've come too far, and the cause is too worthy, to simply lie down and give up.
Fight on!
Dio.
PS: If you'd like to leave a comment -- and I encourage you to do so -- simply click on the "number of comments" area, and share your thoughts in the "comment rectangle" that appears.
PPS: We know that there are plenty out there who have stories to tell -- stories of your trying to cope with our dysfunctional healthcare system. Trouble is, we don't know what these stories are! That's where you come in. If you have a story to tell, you can email me at indivisible12401@gmail.com. You can be as anonymous as you like. Thanks!
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