New York, NY: Labor unions and health advocates throughout New York City stood united on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday, January 20th to urge Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to block provisions in the Senate version of the Health Care Reform bill that would have an adverse effect on New York City’s healthcare system. 

These groups included the Commission on the Public Health System (CPHS), Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) SEIU, Councilman Robert Jackson, Council of Municipal Hospital Advisory Boards, DC 37 AFSCME, Doctors Council SEIU, Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, Health Care for America Now – New York, Make The Road New York, Metro NY Health Care for All Campaign, Municipal Labor Committee of NYC (MLC), NYC District Council of Carpenters, New York Immigration Coalition, New York State Nurses Association, Reconciliation and Culture Cooperative Network, South Asian Council for Social Services, The Bronx Health Link and the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York.

Unions and Advocates urged New York Senators to fight to ensure that the final version of the Healthcare Reform bill will preserve and protect New York’s healthcare system.

• Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) funding reimburses hospitals for providing healthcare to uninsured patients. New York City Health and Hospital Corporation (HHC) provide outpatient service and provides healthcare to 450,000 uninsured patients annually.

• Under the House version of the healthcare reform bill, the government would check to see if the number of uninsured patients is reduced BEFORE reducing DSH funding.  The Senate bill provides no such check.  It would simply slash DSH funding by 75% whether or not the number of uninsured is actually reduced.

• The House version saves New York State $4 billion annually by picking up major Medicaid costs for all childless adults and some families. The Senate version will punish New York for successfully providing uninsured New Yorkers with healthcare for decades by imposing an additional annual $1 billion in costs on New York’s Medicaid Program.

• Under the House version, undocumented immigrants are able to purchase insurance coverage at full cost while the Senate version does not.  Since New York hospitals will not deny healthcare to these individuals, New York hospitals will continue to bear the financial burden.

• Hospitals, clinics and home health agencies that care for the City’s poorest populations may be forced to close BEFORE uninsured New Yorkers receive coverage as a result of the bill.

The coalition urged the Senators to convince their Senate colleagues to abide by the universal oath that every doctor takes: “FIRST, DO NO HARM” and include critical protections for the New York healthcare systems in the healthcare conference bill. 

                                                                    Statement by Barry Liebowitz, MD
                                                                      President, Doctors Council SEIU                                                                 

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