UFT Announces Health Care Changes - Is a HIP in Everyone's Future?

Upon receiving the UFT Welfare fund announcement yesterday about rises in copays, the first comment from my wife, a lifelong health care administrator who understands the ins and outs of healthcare plans, was that they are trying to ultimately force everyone into a HIP-like plan where you have to use their doctors, which would lead to significant savings.

Since we were married close to 45 years ago, my wife has adamantly taken the position of HIP- NO WAY because of the things she saw and heard on her job. The approval process and rigidity of certain aspects of HIP could be strangling.

I seem to remember that when HIP and GHI merged it was supported by and pushed by Randi and the UFT, which I wrote about on Ed Notes in 2008:

Ed Notes Online: Phase Two...GHI/HIP - NYC

Jul 18, 2008 ... GHI/HIP. During the next 4-6 weeks, CAP will ask that every politician in NYC go on record regarding this issue (especially politicians involved ...

Ed Notes Online: Will GHI/HIP Merger and Privatization Raise Costs? Mar 3, 2008 ... Recently, we have been made aware of the dangers of the GHI/HIP merger, which is supported by the UFT and most other unions. Guess what ...

Ed Notes Online: Coalition Against Privatization Protests GHI/HIP ...

May 10, 2008 ... The conversion (privatization) of GHI & HIP will fully expose 4 million people in NY State to the worst effects of this system. A number of ...

The MORE member and candidate who runs the Doenuts blog has been our resident expert in this issue and writes about it today:

Why Are Our Copays Going Up!!???

 

Phase Two...GHI/HIP

During the next 4-6 weeks, CAP will ask that every politician in NYC go on record regarding this issue (especially politicians involved in primaries).

If Randi and Mike are reading this, remember it was ICE that took a stand and not the very leaders who are supposed to protect us.

BTW: The AFT has endorsed HR 676........Hmmmm...the AFT endorses HR 676 and our union leaders are lining up for a piece of the pie of the conversion money from the possible privatization of GHI and HIP. Now that's unionism!!!!

Click this link...

http://www.tomduane.com/news_2008/letters_2008/Emblem%20Health%20Letter.html

State Senator onboard...

John Powers

Read all about the rally to oppose privatization

.... last Thursday at the ICE blog - with more pics, thanks to Jeff Kaufman.

The power of these protests is the chance to mingle with other rank and file trade unionists from other municipal unions.

Right: Protest leaders Billy (left) and Marvin (with bullhorn)


UFT Chapter Leader John Powers who has led and informed teachers about this issue speaks below.












Transit Workers were there too.

Thursday, June 19th, 5:00 pm - Protest: "National Day of Protest

Join New Yorkers on Thursday June 19th for a day of protest against health insurance profiteering. We will speak-out against the proposed privatization of GHI and HIP and claim Health Care as a basic human right! We will mourn the countless victims of the health insurance industry while marking June nineteenth – a day commemorating the emancipation of slaves in North America. The NYC action is one 17 others nation-wide in solidarity with activists in San Francisco, CA who will be protesting the annual meeting of 38,000 health insurance executives. On June 19th join fellow New Yorkers in declaring our emancipation from for-profit healthcare and support for the single-payer national health insurance bill H. R. 676.

Bring friends & signs.

5:00 pm - Meet at Office of GHI, 441 9th Avenue (34th & 9th)
5:30 pm – March to United Health, One Penn Plaza, (34th St. btw. 7th & 8th)
(A/C/E or 1/2/3 to 34th Street)

For more info on the movement to oppose GHI/HIP privatization:
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2008/06/97606.shtml
http://www.myspace.com/saveourhealthcare

For more info on the movement for Single-Payer National Health Insurance:
http://www.healthcare-now.org/
http://www.phimg.org/V2/

March Organizers
Healthcare Now!, The Coalition Against Privatization, Private Health Insurance Must Go! & Physicians for a National Health Program (Metro Chapter)

Supporters
Teachers for a Just Contract (UFT), Independent Community of Educators (UFT), the Take Back Our Union Coalition (TWU Local 100), The Hunger Action Network of NY State, Gangbox: The Construction Worker's News Service, UFT Retirees, D.C. 37 rank-and-file members, D.C. 37 retirees, Socialist Party USA (NYC), & Socialist Action.

More Info: (718) 869-2279, noprivatization@yahoo.com (request flyer)

Cartoon by graphic artist Gary Martin

Report from the May 30th Anti_privatization March/Demo

The march [from GHI to Gov. Patterson's office] began with a surprise announcement that Randi Weingarten, the head of the Municipal Labor Council and the President of the UFT, had penned a letter to Superintendent Dinallo expressing concern about possible increases in premium rates and denial of access to care should the conversion be approved. She stated that the municipal unions were in the process of reviewing their support of the proposed conversion. This is an important victory for CAP since we have consistently argued that premium rates and access would be jeopardized by a for-profit carrier. Activists in ICE have also attempted to bring this message to the floor of the UFT Delegate Assembly for the past three months and have had many positive conversations with DA representatives.

Posted by CAP. Read the full report at Norm's Notes.

Coalition Against Privatization Protests GHI/HIP Privatization

Posted by CAP

On May 9^th, a group of determined protesters gathered in front of the office of State Superintendent of the Insurance Eric Dinallo at 25 Beaver Street in Downtown NYC to oppose the proposed conversion of GHI & HIP to a new for-profit company. The march sent a clear message in opposition to the proposal and recommended that Superintendent Dinallo refuse to sign off on it.

Despite heavy rain and winds, demonstrators made their way from 25 Beaver to offices of HIP at 55 Water Street. Along the way, they chanted "Eric Dinallo - JUST SAY NO!" "They Say Privatize - We Say Organize!" and finished the march with a lively chant of "We'll Be Back!" Upon arrival at the HIP offices, demonstrators were able to fraternize with workers from HIP who face the prospect of termination if the conversion is approved.

One participant used a hand-held digital camera to capture the second-half of the march:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxwcEZCW2ds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdD7udfrdl0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V5JEx3Xgo0

Protesters highlighted the negative aspects of the unregulated private health insurance system in the United States. Payments for medical care now eat up the highest percentage of household disposable income and premiums have increased by 80% from 2001-2006. The conversion (privatization) of GHI & HIP will fully expose 4 million people in NY State to the worst effects of this system. A number of speakers at the demo spoke not only against the privatization but in favor of an all-inclusive single-payer national health insurance plan.

The demonstration was the first public act of the Coalition Against Privatization and speakers at the event included representatives from the Independent Community of Educators (UFT), rank-and-file members of the Transit Workers Union Local 100, rank-and-file members of D.C. 37, the Metro New York Health Care for All Campaign, the Socialist Party USA (NYC) and Socialist Action.

The Coalition Against Privatization is planning two follow up actions. On Monday May 12th we are encouraging a phone-in/email-in to the offices of Eric Dinallo. On Friday May 23rd we are planning a march on the offices of GHI. We are also planning a joint action with the health care rights group Healthcare NOW! as part of a national initiative on June 19th.

The next meeting of the Coalition Against Privatization will held on Friday May 16th at 6:30pm at the A. J. Muste Institute, 339 Lafayette St., Buzzer #11.

For more information email noprivatization@yahoo.com or (718) 869-2279

Back Issues- Angelet on Rampage

Here are some links to backdated articles that I just posted:

Ding Dong at Bayard Rustin Ed Complex - Principal John Angelet is leaving.
But even though he's a lame duck, he is hell bent on taking people with him. He is on a rampage and this wouldn't have happened if he had been removed when he was supposed to a few weeks ago. The UFT needs to make a big stink over this. Here's a bitter guy who was forced out but is exacting revenge. All his actions against teachers from the point he announced he is leaving should be declared null and void.


Race on the Table - Globally and Locally. Excerpt from my Wave column from April 4, 2008.
I address some of the Obama/race stuff and also a local issue at PS 106 in Rockaway where the PTA president wrote a piece in the Wave raising issues about white teacher attitudes towards kids of color. You can track the full PS 106 story by clicking on the link in the sidebar.

The Rising Costs of Health Care and NYC Union Contracts - forum April 22. Chapter Leader John Powers will be one of the speakers. John and his colleagues have been on the case of the GHI/HIP merger and has pressured the UFT to provide more info. ICE has joined in with John for support.

The Rising Costs of Health Care and NYC Union Contracts

Tuesday April 22 at 6 PM.
Brooklyn Transit Wheelers Club
14 Williams Ave (corner of East NY Ave.)

Hello Friends:
Please check out the attached flyer.

It would be wonderful if you could attend this very important health care forum. I know many of you are already familiar with GHI-HIP's plans to privatize; however, your support would be greatly welcomed and could help opposition movements gain traction in their attempts to defeat the plan to privatize 93% of city workers' health care insurance.

City unions have remained virtually silent on the issue because they have plans to reap millions of dollars from a pool of conversion money.

The intent of this forum is to raise worker consciousness about a serious health care issue and to follow it up with a number of public demonstrations.

More info about these demonstrations will follow in the coming weeks.

It is also my hope that my UFT brothers and sisters will come out and show their support at the forum and the proposed demonstrations. This issue is important to teachers and can, I think, make inroads toward organizing ourselves to resist and overcome Unity Caucus' lack of effort in seriously challenging the DOE's attempts to privatize and destroy our school system as well as Unity's stranglehold on antidemocratic procedures and willingness to repeatedly engage in give-backs with the DOE.

Thanks.

John Powers, Chapter Leader, Liberation HS in Brooklyn.
P.S. I will speak at the forum.

News from the Blogs

Grading the Schools on Terror – Under Assault writes
As long as everyone’s going around designing “grading” systems for schools – first Klein, now Weingarten — I’ve decided to make one up myself. I see it this way. When the staff lives in fear, they can’t do a good job. Simple as that.

A brilliant concept modeled on the alerts at Homeland Security at Under Assault.


Untamed Teacher
Moriah has entered the red zone as she gives a graphic illustration of the above with her running (and painful) account of her U-rating hearings. Make sure to read the comments from her online support group. I know Moriah's school and principal, who feels obligated to choose at least one teacher a year to humiliate and drive out of teaching. If there's a deity, one day her time will come.


Unity on the Couch
by John Powers at the ICE blog on the March DA and the GHI/HIP merger.

Unity at the DA is an interesting machine to observe. If it were to be rated according to the fairest and most practical methods used to evaluate classroom teaching and community building, it would undoubtedly receive an unsatisfactory rating. It rarely starts on time or ends on time. There is plenty of chalk and talk or just plain talk and no chalk. There is also no "accountable- talk" amongst delegates. Its agenda ("objectives") goes unchecked, unmet and off on tangential paths. Certain members of Unity feel comfortable hurling aloud words and moans meant to intimidate and stop others from voicing their ideas and disagreements about a given topic. All of the above, from my perspective, creates a culture that attempts to dumb delegates down, maintains the status-quo and ultimately makes it difficult to create a stronger, democratic union capable of beating back the no longer creeping, but rapidly advancing privatization of our school system.

http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/unity-on-couch.html

Leonie Haimson and the gang celebrate the 4th anniversary of the Monday Night Massacre at the PEP on St. Patrick's Day with the real St. Patrick (Sullivan) leading the opposition to the 8th grade holdover policy at the NYC Public School Parent's blog.

And the great Gary Babad at the same blog reports on Bloomberg's naming Elliott Spitzer to the post of Deputy Chancellor.


Have a Gneiss Day has a very hilarious (or very sad) post on recent parent teacher conferences.

Will GHI/HIP Merger and Privatization Raise Costs?

Monday, March 3, 2008

Recently, we have been made aware of the dangers of the GHI/HIP merger, which is supported by the UFT and most other unions. Guess what? The unions get a windfall out of this – nothing to do with the members, of course, who will probably get screwed by higher costs. After all, this is all about privatization which will remove state controls – we've seen how corporate greed works out.

It should be pointed out that the UFT has been part and parcel of the move to privatize the public schools, whether in support of charters like Green Dot or their own charter schools, the backing of Gates and Annenberg money to control public ed policy, etc. Plus making sure to get their swag from the professional development money train – a regular little corporate model, our UFT.

We had a brief discussion on this at last Friday's ICE meeting and will be following up. The group fighting this will be giving out a leaflet at the Delegate Assembly this Weds. The have been going around to opposition caucus meetings of various unions to make their objections known. Recently hundreds of people attended a hearing on the issue. Many were locked out until they called NY 1 and "suddenly" space was found for them.

Right now New York City has been opposed, fighing for a bigger share of the cut. (My God! We're on the same side as Bloomberg!) But expect that to be settled soon.


Everyone should start asking questions about this. What are the unions getting? How will that affect the members? What are politicians getting? Check contributions from GHI/HIP to campaigns, etc.

Ed Notes had this report on Feb. 25, 2008:
There are UFT members and others who feel the merger of HIP and GHI is a bad thing. The result will be a joint privatized HIP/GHI operation instead of being under public control. Instinct says that is not a good thing. Check it out here. http://socialistparty-usa.org/stopthemerger/

Anthony Weiner called for Congressional hearings on the HIP/GHI merger back in Nov. '06, stating:

I write to request that you convene Judiciary Committee hearings early in the next Congress to examine whether consumers are being adequately protected from anti-trust concerns when health care insurers merge.

In New York, the two health care insurers that cover 90 percent of the City’s municipal employers, GHI and HIP, have announced their intention to merge. The Department of Justice and the State Insurance Department have both approved the union, failing to find any anti-trust concerns.

But the City of New York believes that the new merged health provider will create a monopoly, eliminating the City’s leverage when negotiating for employee health coverage, and empowering these two health insurers to demand taxpayers pay them tens of millions of dollars more than they currently receive.

As New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today, the proposed merger, “is taking away the City’s ability to negotiate a fair price for health care plans. . . .The City’s tax payers are going to be so royally taken advantage of. . .so [GHI and HIP] can rip us off.”

Yesterday, Judge Kenneth M. Karas of the Southern District of New York refused to intervene to block the merger.

This most recent proposal is part of a larger pattern of insurance mergers. Oxford was purchased by UnitedHealthcare in 2004. And last year, the parent of Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the largest insurer in New York State, was purchased by Wellpoint for $6.5 billion.

This issue demands enhanced oversight. I look forward to focusing on anti-trust issues facing the health insurance industry early in the next Congress.

If anyone has info on the follow-up, share it.

Think the UFT would ever support Weiner for Mayor? I bet Bill Thompson, our Comptroller and the UFT fave for mayor, supports the merger. Don't know for sure, just a guess.

The Weiner letter is at:
http://www.house.gov/list/press/ny09_weiner/061117merger.html

The president of the Medical Society of the State of New York believes the conversion of the GHI-HIP insurance company would have a negative impact on patient care and payments to physicians. - Jan. 30, 2008. Read in full here.

The UFT take from Arthur Pepper is here. Pepper will supposedly be on the Board to protect your interests (supposedly.) He says: Most importantly, all through the process both GHI and HIP have pledged to their subscribers to keep to the mission of affordable and quality health care.

Sort of like the DOE "pledge" to reduce class size. But there's more about the incest between the UFT and HIP.

Ira Goldfine reported on ICE-mail yesterday:

Tonight's Jeopardy answer is:

Arthur H. Barnes senior vice president for External Affairs and Corporate Contributions at HIP Health Plans

and the question is "Who was Sandra Feldman's husband?"

The share of the pot that will be given to NY State upon the two companies merging is huge and the UFT has been part of this for years -- this was talked about before Randi ever made her entrance into the UFT. Supposedly the unions were going to get a piece of the action in return for their support.

Loretta Prisco followed up on ICE-mail with this report:

Recently I ran into an old friend at a concert. During intermission, she told me about the hearings that she went to about the ghi/hip merger and it is going for-profit. She was really incensed, and to be honest, I couldn't quite get to the facts. So I called her.

There were 70 listed speakers - there were reps from other unions - who all spoke against it. She is looking for the list of speakers for me.

The Emblem presentation did not talk about quality of care at all.

One union rep challenged them about jobs leaving NYC. Emblem assured them that there would be no loss of jobs to NYC. The rep said that 15 jobs had already moved out to LI.

No doctors spoke.

She is pretty disgusted over the fact that the UFT wasn't there and that we are not getting info - "we are professionals - smart - and should be getting some facts - pros and cons". She is as upset over how the union is dealing (or rather not dealing with us on this ) than the possible loss of services and increased fees.

She said that NYC was against it at the hearing - but now, as we know, for it. NYS is in favor of it because as a for profit - they can collect taxes. Again, nothing about quality of care.

But Loretta, they pledged to keep up the quality? Cynic!!