not a moment too soon

Yesterday, two my of roommates, both members of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) received a mailer from that union. It's basically a four page pamphlet, listing hospital closings and layoffs in the NYC area. Consolidated like that, it is kind of jarring: in NYC and Long Island alone, there have been three hospital closings and six hospitals which have laid off more than 50 people in the past year alone. The mailer also says that according to an American Hospital Association survey, 50% of hospitals were considering staff cutbacks to deal with "financial stress" as of October 2008. The mailer includes two index card size postcards you can punch out, sign, and send to your state senator or assemblymember to urge them to oppose the $1.3 billion in healthcare budget cuts proposed by Governor Paterson. The NYSNA is not the only one organizing around the budget cuts; SEIU 1199 and the Greater New York Hospital Association launched a million dollar campaign against them earlier this year.

Presumably, the mailer went out prior to the HHC cuts. Interestingly, some of the responses I've read posted to articles about the HHC cuts discussed how difficult it already was for nurses to get a job in NYC even before those cuts were announced.

budget cuts create controversy

Two powerful health care groups are mounting an aggressive public relations campaign against Governor Paterson's proposed reductions in health care spending, the New York Times reported Sunday. The two groups, Union 1199 and the Greater New York Hospital Association, are purchasing radio and TV spots, funding a phone bank, and mailing flyers throughout the state to protest the governor's $3.5 billion in health care spending cuts, part of a larger $15 billion package designed to balance the budget. The NYT estimates the radio and TV ads alone will cost more than $1 million per week.

Yesterday Paterson and Senate Democrats balanced this year's fiscal budget, which ends March 31, with many small cuts that collectively covered the $1.6 billion deficit. This cost health care in New York "$359 million...including cuts for nursing homes and health maintenance organizations, grants and higher assessments for health insurers" according to Reuters. Also among the cuts: $75 million for the Environmental Protection Fund, and $306 million from the Power Authority.

For FY2010, there is a projected $13-15 billion dollar deficit. In December 2008, the Governor proposed an additional $3.5 billion in health care spending reductions. The centerpiece of the cuts, profiled on the Governor's website , would cap Medicaid spending in New York at $16 billion, which would nevertheless be an increase over spending in 2008-2009. However, it is over $1 billion less than the projected need of $17.2 billion during FY2010, and would reduce the amount of federal aid spent in New York state. More later on other proposed cuts.

Union 1199, more formally 1199 S.E.I.U. United Healthcare Workers East, is the health care portion of Service Employees International Union, covers New York, NJ, Maryland, DC, and Massachusetts. Its members are typically technicians who work in the health care field: certified nursing assistants, xray technicians, home attendants, etc. There are also members who are registered nurses, but these are relatively few. The union boasts 300,000 members and claims to be the largest local union in the world. The GNYHA covers more than 300 hospitals in the greater NY area.

new insurance proposal

Governor Paterson is working on a plan to extend the period of time employed adults ae permitted to claim their children as dependents for health insurance, the New York Times reports. Currently, New Yorkers can claim their children up to age 19, unless the child is a full time student, in which case they can claim up to age 22. The new plan would extend that age to 29. The plan is modeled on an NJ law that offered the same option to parents, provided the children are under 31, reside in the state or are enrolled in college, and have no dependents of their own.

Analysts note that the effects of the Jersey law have been "incremental", pointing out that 55% of the nations workers work for companies that self-insure, and are therefore subject only to federal regulations. However, since 800,000 people, or 31% of uninsured New Yorkers, fall into the demographic targeted by this plan, legislators are paying attention. Austin Shafran, a spokeman for new Senate majority leader Malcolm A. Smith, is quoted in the Times as saying: “The plan seems like a very legitimate step in the right direction toward improving access to health care. We’re really taking a look at it.”