LETTER: Molinaro wrong on NY Health Act, Dr. Sunny Aslam, Auburn Citizen

"Molinaro pledges to veto universal health care bill if elected NY governor" (The Citizen, 7/26/2018) shows we need a candidate for governor who has a plan to provide health for all who live in New York state. The article does not mention that traditional Medicare's model of extremely low admin costs would save taxpayers an estimated $45 billion in the first year alone. The threat of tax increases for business and the addition of $90 billion (!) to the state budget are hung over the reader. The final boogeyman is when Molinaro mentions a state takeover of health care.

Sadly, Molinaro offers no solutions of his own for the crippling and increasing costs of health care in New York.

If the New York Health Act were to pass, we would find few of the above scare tactics are true. Instead we would find free choice of physicians (free market choice not government takeover) in New York state; tremendous administrative cost savings; businesses no longer spending $2 billion per year finding health plans and overall health care payroll costs lowered. Life saving pharmaceutical prices would be negotiated in similar fashion as done by the Veterans Affairs (VA) who pays 40 percent less than the general public. You can read the study yourself at www.infoshare.org/main/Economic_Analysis_New_York_Health_Act_-_GFriedman_-_April_2015.pdf.

Most New Yorkers (estimated 98 percent) and businesses would pay less and often far less than the $25,000 average costs of a family health insurance plan.

I work as an addiction psychiatrist. When my patients don't come to treatment or get medications because of loss of coverage, burdensome paperwork requirements by insurance companies or outrageous drug costs, they can stop breathing. It makes you furious when politicians like Molinaro refuse humane approaches like the New York Health Act. I've found the governor's lack of support of universal healthcare upsetting; maybe he'll stand up now and champion the New York Health Act.

I'm thrilled to be supporting a slate of candidates who actually support this improved, expanded Medicare for all approach: Cynthia Nixon for governor, Dana Balter for congress, Rachel May and John Mannion for state Senate.

I hope this fall you will support candidates who are serious about universal healthcare and lowering health costs for consumers and businesses.

Read the original letter here.


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