The murder, actually assassination of the UnitedHealth CEO suddenly turned the spotlight on what had been simmering, a broken healthcare system. We spend more money per capita on healthcare than any other nation and the beneficiaries are the monopolies that dominate. For years the “big guys” have gobbled up the “little guys,” from hospitals to testing facilities, every aspect of the healthcare landscape.
Most of us have healthcare provided by our employer who purchases the plan. The cost increases every year and union contracts salary is diminished to pay for the increasing cost of health plans.
For years Michael Mulgrew, the UFT president has been fighting the major hospitals, as the costs for every procedure increased. Cities and states seemed helpless and Mulgrew called for federal action. Bernie Sanders has advocated for a national Medicare for All, without any support, it was decried as “Socialized Medicine.”
The assassination has turned the assassin into a folk hero and turned a spotlight onto the new healthcare robber barons. Story after story of “denials” of lifesaving services, often determined by an AI algorithm.
In New York State a Medicare for All bill has been introduced every year since 1992, Assembly member Gottfried has been the prime sponsor and his role has moved to State Senator Gustavo Rivera.
The UFT has been wary, will the proposed change from the current plans to a government run Medicare for All provide the same or greater services?
Medicare for All would mean all residents of New York State, 20 million people at a cost of perhaps five billion a year: who pays the cost of financing the plan? A simple query – a progressive health tax – how much would I pay?
The opposition caucuses in the UFT jumped on board, well, most of them, Mulgrew has been meeting with Senator Rivera. Initially the unions asked for an opt out, if services were less than current services or the cost to members excessive the unions could opt out and retain employer negotiated plans, the proposed plan did not allow opt outs.
I did something unusual, I read the bill. Read here
Bills of this magnitude are usually many hundred of pages, the current bill is 37 pages!The bill establishes a thirty-one member board of trustees, three from labor, the others from an unspecified wide range of . healthcare organization. trustees would write the plan that would phase in over three years,
In my years working as a union rep, serving on negotiating teams and representing teachers in arbitrations, I learned the concept of “due diligence,” every comma counts, if management supports lower class size, let’s decide on a number.
Read my blog here and Gottfried’s response here
In a recent blog I asked two questions:
* the plan is going to be funded by a progressive tax – how much would I pay? Is there a chart? an algorithm?
* Is there a dispute resolution procedure? binding arbitration?
A major difference is a question of trust and Gottfried says the trust us, we’ll doing the right thing,
The Goodman opinion focuses a lot on the point that many details of the system are not spelled out in the bill. Of course not. Does a union contract name all the thousands of medical procedures and drugs the health benefit might cover and the price for each? But the bill spells out – in law – the key fundamentals that make clear that New York Health is the right choice for all of us, and far better than any other health plan, union or otherwise.
The union contract does not simply say “reduce class size,” it lists specific numbers.
As a union advocate I learned the concept of due diligence, cross every “t” and dot every “i.”
Promises and the best of intentions tend to go astray.
And, of course with a Trump administration opposing the concept, the hurtles will be significant.
At the Retired Teacher Meeting Senator Rivera answered questions, many of which were unanswerable: will my doctor in Florida accept the plan? Rivera’s response was accurate, I don’t see why not; however, I don’t know. The cost to the members was skirted, while the bill avers the first $50,000 of revenue would not be taxed the actual tax will be decided by the trustees, and, for retirees who joined the Tax Deferred Annuity and have reached the statutory age the “required minimum distribution” is significant, the retiree will be double taxed.
The question is of a process to address grievances, a dispute resolution process, is crucial, the roads to you know were are paved with “good intentions.” And, considering who is proposed for Secretary of Health and Human Services, I’d be wary.
Mulgrew is absolutely correct, the 37-page bill is a starting point, Medicare for All is a goal, the assassination is both tragic and turned the nation’s attention to our dysfunctional national healthcare system, run by modern day robber barons; however diving into the pool with checking the depth of the water is foolhardy.
Ed in the Apple: Blogging on the Intersection of Education and Politics Title 