NY Lt. Governor Candidate Says Spitzer and Faso's Health Care
Plans are Inadequate; Says Single-Payer Health Insurance is the Best
Solution
Green Party of New York State
www.gpnys.org
Alison Duncan for Lieutenant Governor
www.alisonduncan.org
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
http://www.urban.org/publications/311372.html
Health Care Reform; Proposals Have Potential to Reduce Administrative Costs,
GAO
http://archive.gao.gov/t2pbat3/152004.pdf
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PEACE SLATE CANDIDATE WEBSITES
Malachy McCourt for Governor
http://votemalachymccourt.org/
Alison Duncan for Lieutenant Governor
http://www.alisonduncan.org/
Rachel Treichler for Attorney General
http://www.voterachel.org/
Julia Willebrand for Comptroller
http://gpnys.org/
Howie Hawkins for US Senate from New York
http://www.hawkinsforsenate.org/
