| Here are some comments from the other presenters:
"We are glad she is the one representing us," Mayor of Glens Falls; "A decade ago I was against a single payer system, but I have come to change my mind," head of Glens Falls Hospital; "We have a new friend in Washington who will help us and protect us during the time of very necessary change," head of Hudson Headwaters Health Center. Some of these people admitted supporting Sweeney, by the way.
"Health care reform is the number one issue on the national agenda," Gillibrand said. "There are concerns across the board about health care in America."
People living in rural areas, like many parts of NY 20th congressional district, need more doctors and nurses, and Gillibrand has a plan for that - federal benefits and incentives for doctors who practice in rural areas and for those who go into the nurse training/education field.
Doctors and hospitals need to stop spending so much money on paperwork, she said. The hospital official said they had more than 200 different insurance companies to deal with, all with their own forms. The doctor in charge of Hudson Headwaters Heath Center said they do "courtesy billing" and they have more than 1,000 different mailing addresses to send forms, etc to.
Gillibrand wants one universal form and the use of information technology to give all healthcare providers easy access to one's medical information. These are simple solutions to a burdensome and expensive system and a way to cut costs for administrative overhead.
For "universal health care" she suggested that everyone be allowed to buy into Medicare at a cost of about 5 percent of one's income. Medicare has the lowest administrative costs of all health insurance providers with only three percent overhead lower administrative costs, not obscene salaries for CEOs and not advertising costs, she said.
She acknowledged that Medicare had its problems, but those could be fixed.
"We have to make sure Medicare works right, we need comprehensive reform," she said.
Anyone who doesn't want to buy in doesn't have to - this would be just one more choice that people would have - competition in the market place.
Gillibrand really is the kind of representative we hoped she would be. Let's support her all we can so she can stay in Washington. |
