NY Lt. Governor Candidate Says Spitzer and Faso's Health Care Plans are Inadequate; Says Single-Payer Health Insurance is the Best SolutionGreen Party of New York State
Alison Duncan for Lieutenant Governor November 02, 2006 Universal, Single-Payer Health Insurance is the Best Solution ALBANY, NY -- Alison Duncan, Green Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor, said today that Spitzer and Faso's plans for health care fail to address the core problem -- that millions of New Yorkers have no health insurance. She said only a universal, single-payer health insurance program would cover all New Yorkers. Universal, single-payer health care is a publicly funded and administered health insurance program that provides comprehensive coverage with no deductables or co-pays and allows a personal choice of physicians. Duncan, a premed student at City College, is in Albany campaigning. She will appear in gubernatorial candidate Malachy McCourt's show "You Don't Have To Be Irish To Vote For Me," at The Egg, Center for the Performing Arts, at the Empire State Plaza at 7pm. Dr. Alice Green, founder and executive director ofthe Center for Law and Justice and 2005 Green Party candidate for mayor of Albany, will introduce the show. "Neither Spitzer nor Faso has a plan to cover New York's uninsured, and we are all paying the price," said Duncan. "Public hospitals and clinics have taken on the burden of providing for the uninsured, creating a hidden cost for taxpayers and businesses. A recent survey by the Urban Institute found that 2.8 billion in uncompensated care was provided by hospitals, physicians, and health centers in 2005 in New York. This also represents a direct subsidy to corporations running HMOs that fail to adequately cover their patients' medical treatment." There are over 46 million people living in the U.S. without health insurance, 8 million of them children. Insurance for a family of four is over $10,000 a year, higher than the yearly income of a minimum-wage worker, and only three out of five businesses offer health insurance to their employees. "Behind the statistics are the painful choices people are making between paying for a doctor, their rent, or their groceries," said Duncan. "People without insurance are more likely to go without regular checkups, and medical conditions that could have been addressed early on turn into medical emergencies with potentially life-threatening consequences." "Administrative savings from switching to single-payer would total about 10% of overall health spending and about $100 billion annually, enabling us to cover all of the uninsured and eliminate co-payments, deductibles and exclusions," said Duncan. "You won't hear this from Spitzer or Faso, who have accepted campaign contributions from insurance companies and their PACs, but universal, single-payer health care is the best solution to the health insurance crisis." Caring for the Uninsured in New York, Urban Institute Health Care Reform; Proposals Have Potential to Reduce Administrative Costs,
GAO ----------------------- PEACE SLATE CANDIDATE WEBSITES Malachy McCourt for Governor
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