NBC 13 – WNYT
Albany, NY
http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S1096510.shtml?cat=300
ALBANY – Health reform supporters were active in the area Thursday as they try to shift momentum that’s been building to stop changes Democrats are trying to push through Congress.
The president has made it a top priority, but even with his considerable influence the latest polling shows health care reform facing an uncertain future, with roughly as many people saying they’re opposed as in favor depending on the specifics of the various questions.
Beverly Padgett lost her health insurance when she lost her job. She says she could not afford to buy her own coverage. Then she got sick.
“My sugar was so high that I kind of laid down, take a nap and I couldn’t wake up,” she said.
Eventually she ended up in an emergency room and then spent 11 days in the hospital. With coverage and care, she thinks all that could have been avoided.
It’s for Padgett and millions of others in this country that Citizen Action rallied outside the O’Brien Federal Building today in Albany. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, was there to encourage them.
“This is a train wreck waiting to happen. America this past November asked for reforms. They asked for a change in how we do business. They asked for respect shown to America’s working families. We have the chance to do that today. We need to move forward,” Tonko said.
Yet at town meetings and other gatherings throughout the country reform opponents have been demonstrating loudly and in considerable numbers. They argue against major changes to the current system, especially a public option, which would compete against the profit-making private insurers.
Dr. Andrew Coates isn’t a big fan of the public option either because he doesn’t think it provides enough reform.
“The goals of health reform should be at minimum lowering costs and covering every one. If we want to have those two goals in mind, the only thing that will do it is a single-payer system,” he said.
Neil Breslin chairs the state Senate’s insurance committee. He says 2.8 million New Yorkers are without health insurance currently. They face financial ruin from serious illness and all of us absorb some of the cost of their treatment under the current system.
