The big healthcare race

High stakes for Sullivan and beyond

FRITZ MAYER
Posted 4/5/17

MONTICELLO, NY — The health rankings for New York State were released on March 29, and once again Sullivan County ranked 61 out of 62 counties in terms of the worst health outcomes for …

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The big healthcare race

High stakes for Sullivan and beyond

Posted

MONTICELLO, NY — The health rankings for New York State were released on March 29, and once again Sullivan County ranked 61 out of 62 counties in terms of the worst health outcomes for residents. Add to that the health care legislation battles being waged in Washington, DC and in Albany, and there’s a lot to talk about.

The Senior Legislative Action Committee (SLAC) tackled the subject with a presentation from two speakers at the government center on March 31.

First up was James Krellenstein, who has been working for a couple of years performing analysis for advocacy groups. First he talked about data from the Centers for Disease Control regarding mortality for people in the 19th Congressional District in New York.

He said among people aged 25 to 34, there are 30 more deaths in the district every year than the average for the rest of the state. Mortality in all age groups is higher than the state average, and in the age group 65 to 74 there are 116 additional deaths each year compared to the state average. Clearly, residents in the 19th Congressional District do not have outcomes as good as those in other parts of the state.

Krellenstein moved to discuss Sullivan County, specifically the data from the New York State Department of Health. He noted that the leading cause of death in Sullivan County is heart disease, next is cancer, then respiratory illnesses, followed by unintentional injury and accidents and finally septic shock.

Looking specifically at cancer, he said Sullivan County residents have a 6% lower rate of new cases of cancer compared to the rest of the state, but county residents have a 14% higher rate of dying from cancer. According to Krellenstein, “that says directly that this is a healthcare issue and not an overall environmental issue, or predisposition of the population.” He said a possible cause of that is “reduced rates of cancer screenings here, especially among women.”

He then discussed the American Health Care Act, (AHCA or Trumpcare), which fell apart when President Trump withdrew it from consideration from the House. He said, “The bill will undoubtedly make healthcare outcomes worse, not better, in the 19th Congressional District.” His estimate is that 90,000 residents in the district would lose healthcare. More than 50,000 would lose coverage under Medicaid, assuming the state government doesn’t increase taxes to cover the loss of federal dollars.

His overall message was that the Trump-backed AHCA would have exacerbated every health problem in the county and district.

After Krellenstein, Henry Moss, a member of the board of Physicians for a National Health Program–NY Metro Chapter, took to the podium to discuss the New York Heal Act (NYHA) a state initiative, which would provide universal single-payer healthcare to every state resident.

Moss, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy, was drawn into the healthcare fray after spending two years researching long-term care for his ailing, elderly mother.

He is working to integrate a long-term care provision into the NYHA. He said, “Starting in 2030 when we [baby] boomers start turning 80 years old and older, our kids are going to have a tremendous burden. There won’t be enough family care givers for aging boomers. It’s time to add long-term personal care to Medicare, and start training the millions of aides we’ll need to help out.”

He then moved onto the rest of the picture. Moss said, “All eyes are on New York. With the Republican takeover in Washington, all three branches of government, and most of the states, the future of [universal healthcare] is at best sketchy. However, if a state with a relatively strong tax base, relatively blue, relatively big like California or New York, were to pass single-payer, universal healthcare legislation, it would send a shockwave across the country. We’d see Washington [state] Oregon, New Mexico, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, would all start getting interested. And that could be the trigger—that could be the way that single- payer healthcare becomes a reality in this country.”

Moss noted that California just introduced its single-payer legislation, which is similar to the New York legislation, on March 29.

The NYHA, which would do away with insurance companies, has passed the state Assembly two years in a row, but the Senate has blocked it. The bill would need 32 votes to pass in the Senate. In the past two weeks, Moss said, support has climbed from 26 to 29. There is an open seat in one Senate district, but all candidates have said they will vote for NYHA, so Moss said that brings the count to 30. Another senator, Rubin Dias Sr. of the Bronx, has not supported the bill because of its abortion element, but Moss thinks there’s a possibility he could be swayed. And the last senator who might be convinced is Simcha Felder from Brooklyn, who represents a lot of constituents enrolled in Medicaid. Those constituents would be harmed if Republicans in Washington prevail with their plans for the Medicaid overhaul.

SLAC has scheduled a Town Hall meeting for April 30 at 3 p.m. at the Ted Stroebele Community Center in Monticello. Congressman John Faso, who had indicated he would vote in favor of the Trump-backed AHCA, has been invited. However, he is not expected to attend, as he currently is refusing to attend town-hall style meetings.

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