Letter to the NY State Psychological Association

To All Members of the NY State Psychological Association,

Our listserves are buzzing with the news of the defeat of HR6331, the "Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act", resulting in a 10% cut in reimbursements to doctors for Medicare services. The 10% cut in our payments will preserve the subsidies that Medicare pays to private health insurance companies.

It is crucial to understand that this current situation is just one example of how the private health insurance industry swindles doctors and patients! These "managed (mangled) care" companies are responsible for up to 30% of insurance premiums being wasted on needless bureaucracy. Much of that money is spent on exorbitant salaries of insurance company executives, whose mandate is to maximize profits of their shareholders by minimizing health care benefits to patients and reimbursements to doctors. Our pocketbooks suffer and the welfare of millions of Americans are jeopardized by that profiteering.

It is time for a fundamental change in America's health care system. HR676, a bill currently in Congress, would eliminate private health insurance companies and create a national healthcare system which would cover all necessary medical care, including mental health services. A national single-payer insurance program that is publicly funded, an expanded and improved Medicare for All, would replace the current wasteful and confusing patchwork of hundreds of private plans and save billions of dollars a year currently wasted on needless administration. This savings would be more than enough to cover the uninsured and under-insured and fairly compensate us for the work that we do.

What can we do? The question of the existence grassroots organizations that are working to combat the rackateers has been raised in the context of this listserve discussion. Yes! There are many grassroots organizations that are working to support the passage of HR676.

One of those organizations is PHIMG - "Private Health Insurance Must Go". I invite you to go to the website www.phimg.org to learn about specific actions that are being taken by this group and others (for example "Physicians for a National Health Program" and "Heathcare- now"). And join us! PHIMG meets monthly to inform the public of important issues in this battle and to mobilize for action.

Hear about the current proposed privatization of GHI and HIP, which threatens the healthcare of 4 million policy holders, including 93% of NYC workers, and how the "Coalition Against Privatization" is working to keep GHI and HIP non-profit!

Join Us!

Antonia Cedrone, Ph.D.

acedrone@mindspring.com