Bronx Talk Tackles Health Care Reform

Dr. Jonathan Arend, NPA NY Legislative Director, and Tim Foley of NPA NY's
community partner organization NYC for Change, discuss pending national
health care reform legislation on the local television program Bronx Talk on
November 30. Click here or see below to watch this in-depth conversation.

Calling on the Conscience of Senator Lieberman

A group of NPA physicians joined a vigil outside Senator Lieberman's residence on Sunday evening, November 15, 2009. Several hundred gathered at his former high school in Stamford, Connecticut to appeal to Lieberman's conscience and allow an up or down vote on health care reform, including a public option. Mayor Malloy, Reverend Heichler, Reverend Grubbs, Rabbi Fuchs, and Rabbi Fish spoke with passion in support of a public option. After their speeches the group formed a procession across the street to Lieberman's residence, where spoken and written prayers were delivered. The event was organized by the Interfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care. In attendance were NPA Drs. Oni Blackstock, Alex Foster, Aaron Fox, William Jordan, Sharon Phillips, and Dana Schonberg.

Read an article in the Stamford Advocate about the event and see a slideshow here.

Thank you, Congressman Towns!

Today I attended the rally organized by MoveOn.org. The purpose of the rally was to thank Congressman Ed Towns (NY-10) for his part in ensuring the passing of the health care reform bill H.R. 3962. The Honorable Mr. Towns, his staffers, community members, and patients attended the rally. I spoke at the rally; I was pleasantly surprised having the attendees thank me for coming out. It was clear to me that they felt good about having a doctor there with them.
-- Carol V.R. De Costa, M.D., M.S.

Sarah Miller, M.D., and I spoke at an OFA event in Setauket, Long Island on November 9th. We had a great turnout of about 40 attendees, who had lots of great questions about health reform. The forum was specifically regarding women's access to health care, and Dr. Miller shared an experience showing how even women with insurance have trouble getting their needs met. One of her patients needed a birth control method for medical reasons and was turned away many times because her insurance, run by a Catholic organization, did not cover birth control methods under any circumstances. Getting the care she needed required multiple trips to various physicians and would have been much simpler if insurance companies were required to cover basic reproductive health care needs. I recounted the story of a woman I met in the Emergency Department about a year ago who had been ignoring her chest pain for weeks out of fear of the hospital bills she would incur if she came in. By the time I met her, she was gravely ill and required emergency surgery for a ruptured aortic aneurysm. Unfortunately, she did not survive, and left behind a husband, children, and grandchildren who might have had much more time with her if she had had access to the care she needed.

The audience had many questions about how the bill would affect them, including those on Medicare and those who were younger, what services would be provided, and what the current proposals in Congress entail. We had a great time educating and learning from this wonderful audience.