Video: Shame - Sanitation workers confront MLC Chair Nespoli On Healthcare sellout - Will MLC Vice chair Mulgrew be next?

The awful presentations from Unity on healthcare at the Ex Bd meeting - Vinny and Mikey and maybe even Tom -- was pretty nauseating. Distortions - Mulgrew wants to change city council law - admin code 12-126 -  that protect us so he can screw us with Mulgrewcare.

To present these changes as a way to offer us choice is embarrassingly similar to the charter schools bleating choice, choice, choice as they try to replace the public school system with a privatized option -- exactly what Mulgrew is doing with our healthcare. 

Who ya gonna call?
Let me give you a simple example. I got a bill for $420 claiming Medicare didn't pay. My wife (who was in this field at a major hospital) called Medicare and got an answer from a civil servant- maybe unionized-  probably a long-termer who knew the ropes - almost immediately -- the doctor's office screwed up and they resubmitted the bill and Medicare was paying it. Under Mulgrewcare, she'd be calling Aetna or whatever private insurer they choose - you know private - who understaff to make more profit - and with high turnover. That's one aspect of Mulgrewcare.

 

People are pissed from multiple unions -- we got this message from a UFTer:

Maybe we need to  take a lesson from these Teamsters Local 831 activists. Perhaps we should also be in the streets at the UFT???

 

On September 8, 2022, protesters confronted Municipal Labor Committee chair and president of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, Teamsters Local 831, Harry Nespoli at local 831 union offices in Manhattan. This protester said that the Municipal Labor Committee, a coalition that includes the city's largest unions, voted that morning to slash section 12-126 of the New York City Administrative Code. The section stipulates that the city pays the full cost of health insurance coverage for current and retired city employees.

WATCH the full protest on the NYC for Yourself Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/v1jbtyo-protesters...

Mulgrew obscene use of choice: Less choice of doctors and procedures

Protesters Say Municipal Labor Committee Vote Paves Way to Public Sector Health Insurance Overhaul

https://youtu.be/60GY36Y4DqM

 

 

 

American Life Expectancy Drops Below Most Advanced Nations as Opposition to Medicare for All is Killing us - and the UFT is helping

Here is where I just about accuse our UFT/AFT leadership of assisting the increasing death rate in this country. Not quite accusing them of murder - but - After another bout of listening to UFT leaders splain away their support for damaging Medicare at Monday's UFT First Exec Board of the Year, a publicly managed system that private health insurers are dying to get their hands on and our own union is helping them do it. 

Today I am going to the UFT Chapter Leader meeting to hand out a leaflet on healthcare for Retiree Advocate (see it at the end of this post.)

A shame we have to lobby our own union members to support something so fundamental - not just for us but for the entire population. Use the QR code to sign our petition.

Tomorrow I have my 6 month appointment with my cardiologist - he is doing a carotid artery sonogram which takes 10 minutes and yet lets him know the state of the arteries in my heart. Preventive medicine saves money - which is what I pointed out when I blogged this: 

Our Life Expectancy Falls: Lack of Medicare for All a Factor ignored in mainstream press

The choice on healthcare is bogus propaganda

On Saturday, a guy approached me when I was getting signatures on a petition supporting the NY Health Act and accused me of being a socialist and anti-American and a traitor to this country. He was joking - sort of -- and we actually walked a few blocks together where he seriously gave me the line that government screws everything up and how we never want a government monopoly and we need choice and competition. I thought I was talking to Mulgrew and other Unity apologists for privatizers. I didn't have time to give him the full monty on why I believe he is totally wrong -- that I want a non-profit entity dictating prices. We both agreed that the best way to settle disagreements like this would be over a beer but we both had things to do and bumped fists and went our own ways.

The key takeaways in my blob were:

• Our lowered longevity rate is due to our mostly privatized healthcare system.
• Medicare recipients who take advantage of it are probably the best cared for population and a reason for rising life expectancy in the over 65 - the drop is connected to the younger population.. especially due to drugs. Regular visits to a doctor are crucial and not everyone makes it a habit.
• A medicare for all system with control of drug prices would reverse things and lead to a rise in overall health and life expectancy. In areas with sparse medical coverage, privatized Medicare Advantage plans are often the only option - and some report decent care - if you don't get real sick.
• In the current political climate only a state by state approach will bring us a universal system. The blue states are the most likely. California was close to passing a bill and so has NYS - but the unions are an obstacle. They shouldn't be.
• The UFT and other unions should stop opposing the NY Health Act which would bring such a system to our state. Our union claims to support the concept but says only in a national system, which the chances of happening are nil.
• Medicare for all costs too much both parties say but billions for Ukraine, useless visits to the moon and defense -- no one says a peep except those on the left.

So it was gratifying to hear Krystal Ball do her monologue on Breaking Points the other day on the same subject and this is really worth watching.

• If we had universal healthcare about one third of covid deaths would have been prevented - $110 billion would have been saved in covid casts alone --- hear that Mulgrew?
• When Americans don't have access to health care they put off going to doctors until there is an emergency.
• US GP/capita - 66k and we perform healthwise at the level of 8KGP. We are outpaced by Costa Rica, Chile, Slovenia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg5lrCMo7Pc

 

In other bad news for our healthcare system -- CVS owns Aetna, who is slated to become our new Medicare dis-Advantage Master.

Nurses' Campaign To Win Medicare For All

It’s been four months since we crashed the CVS Health annual shareholder meeting, and CVS still hasn’t said they will permanently cut ties with the Partnership for America's Health Care Future, a dark money lobbying group funding anti-Medicare for All efforts.

So we’re hosting a call on Monday, September 26, to share a huge announcement about what comes next. Will you join us?

CVS Update Call: Stop Gambling with our Lives!

We’ve put a lot of pressure on CVS in the past year — organizing together across the country, orchestrating petitions and panel discussions, and making hundreds of phone calls to CVS executives.

We organized multiple national days of action at hundreds of CVS stores across the country, and we showed up at their annual shareholder meeting, where NNU President Jean Ross, RN asked why they’ve spent millions to block Medicare for All by funding the largest dark money lobbying group.¹ CVS responded that they are not “currently” funding the Partnership; yet they say they agree with everything the Partnership stands for. Their response was wholly inadequate, and we’re not backing down until CVS tells us: Which side are you on?

We can’t let up the pressure now, and we won’t until CVS publicly cuts ties with the Partnership and commits to supporting what’s best for patients, not their bottom line. It’s been a few months since CVS heard from us — now is the time to pick up the momentum again and make sure they know where we stand.

We have a lot of big actions planned for the coming month, and we want you to be a part of them, Norman. Join the call on Monday, September 26, to learn more.

RSVP NOW »

Thank you,

Nurses’ Campaign to Win Medicare for All

Impressions: UFT First Exec Board of the Year - New Blood - Both UFC and Unity

Is the UFT Ex Bd a space for bi-partisan agreement or does the very idea make you gag? I opt for the former - hold the hostility for the Delegate Assembly.

I was reminded at how adept some union officials are at making stuff look good. I mean you can come out of an Ex bd meeting thinking the UFT leadership does so much. At the next meeting someone dump a bucket of ICE on my head.

Tuesday, Sept. 13,

 

I jumped on the Rockaway ferry yesterday afternoon to attend the first UFT Ex Bd meeting of the school year, looking forward to seeing the 7 newly elected UFC HS candidates at their first meeting. Plus a group of other supporters of UFC. Our election complaint was on the agenda, health care has risen up again, class size may have a new law but for me the contract for class size is still king. So there was a lot on my mind and I had signed up to speak but with so much to say I decided not to say anything.

 

I won't go into the details of the meeting because there are 2 reports of the meeting from James Eterno and Nick Bacon:

• Healthcare Changes and Class Size Reductions – UFT Executive Board Minutes, 9-12-2022 - New Action blog
  

• UFT EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 - ICE blog
  

Spring 2022 election hostilities fade but UFC Complaint still active

Yes, our complaint still has not been decided on by the UFT. Nick reports on Leroy's response:

Election Challenge: One omnibus complaint that came out in June. We responded to that one in terms of things that were repeated. The challenge is to go to the UFT, then the AFT. We asked them to go forward to the UFT. Complaints: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, and 29 (?) – go straight to the UFT. In terms of the remaining challenges, we want reports by the next exec board meetings/ We know there is a 90 day rule, so we will work on that over the next few meetings.

So the complaint is and continues to be a bone of contention. He acknowledged they are over the 90 day time limit and invited us to go to the Dept of Labor if we want. Next move is up to UFC, which can decide to wait - or not. Either way, I am somehow up to my ears in whatever is done -- a hostage situation.

Note to the Unity idiot who can't read and compares this to Trump stop the steal --- we are opposed to using union resources and personnel to promote Unity in elections and want it to stop for future elections.

But, let me point out that Ex Bd is very different from the Delegate Assembly. Small number of people, opposition treated with some respect and allowed to raise anything and ask as many questions as they want. And there's food - decent food - I asked Leroy Barr to order beef wellington for me and he promised a turkey burger but they had a choice of Salmon or meat and I took the latter and it was delicious -- plus salad and pie. 

More congenial - generally. It's a space where you feel uncomfortable being contentious - someone pointed out that is the intent - to blunt anger and use these meetings to promote the work the Unity people are doing.

We were also informed by people in MORE that they were working with 300 early childhood coordinators and social workers who found out they were excessed in the Friday afternoon before Labor Day. (I Posted their letter of protest - More Chaos in DOE - 300 Early Childhood Coordinators and Social Workers Excessed by Adams/Banks in Last Minute Hit Job - Friday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend.) 

 

Pre-Meeting was almost better than the meeting

I was asked to help some of the new people to navigate the process at the Ex Bd meeting to make their case to the leadership.
 

The last time the oppo won in 2016, we began meeting an hour before to discuss strategy. These were open meetings and helped set the stage as people discussed questions and issues to bring up. We began to invite people to join us and to sign up for the ten minute open section where non ex bd people could speak. 

MulgrewCare is Back in Attempt to Overturn Judge's Ruling, PSC Union opposes, Resisters Will Marching In Labor Day Rally

The union honchos want a blank check to reconfigure the health plans of both retirees and in-service members. This means limiting the choices for in-service members (cost cutting being the main goal) and pressuring retirees in to a Medicare Advantage plan.... UFT Retiree

I wrote the other day about contracts being stalled until the retiree issue was settled: NYC Contract Negotiations Stalled Due to Healthcar... 

Sure enough the next day we find the Adams/Mulgrew alliance are doing a work around the judge -- Eterno has details and the article in NY Focus:

 

ICEUFT Blog

UNIONS-ADAMS AGREE TO ASK CITY COUNCIL TO LET THEM RESURRECT MULGREWCARE (PRIVATIZED MEDICARE ADVANTAGE)

I'm in the city for today's Labor Day marches. Two days ago we got the news that so many of the union leaderships, including our own UFT, are still trying to sell out retirees by forcing them out of Medicare and into a privatized Medicare Advantage program. 

 

I'm heading over to the 42nd St library soon to meet up with people from a bunch of unions - called CROC - Cross Union Organizing Committee -- and we will march with Retiree Advocate in the sea of mostly UFT Unity.

One of the unions we are working with is CUNY - Prof Staff Congress and at least their leadership is resisting. Below is their letter and I will be back tomorrow with a report on the rally and reactions as I ask the Unity clones, who slavishly follow the line like Trumpies follow their leader -- HOW COULD YOU?

 

 

Dear PSC members and retirees,

More Chaos in DOE - 300 Early Childhood Coordinators and Social Workers Excessed by Adams/Banks in Last Minute Hit Job - Friday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend

They had all summer to do this but why not open schools with chaos?
Everyone received their excess letters on Tuesday after Labor Day. Their schools were in chaos the next few days and now the DOE is telling some of them to report to the jobs they were excessed from. They technically do not have their jobs to do the work. They would need to be reinstated first! Here is the letter from resistance organizers.

 

Restore UFT Early Childhood Coordinators and Social Workers

Dear Community Stakeholders: 

 

With less than a week to go before the first day of the 2022-23 school year, the DOE sent a press release announcing the restructuring of a program that supports early childhood classrooms across the city, including all Pre-K and 3-K for All programs. Our team of over 300 Instructional Coordinators (ICs) and Social Workers (SWs) works in public schools and nonpublic settings, such as private daycare centers, religious and private schools contracted by the DOE, pre-schools, and Head Start centers. We support teachers and hard working leaders as they strive to help children and families overcome 2+ years of pandemic strain and stress, the worst of which has hit Black and Brown children and families, and many immigrants whose first language is not English. Our work as ICs and SWs includes:  

 

• Mental health and wellness coaching and social-emotional support for classrooms and families 

• In-classroom instructional coaching 

• Caregiver workshops and presentations geared to community needs around early childhood topics 

• Helping set up classroom environments  

• Curriculum guidance  

• Support with the implementation of classroom routines and expectations 

• Helping programs align with DECE initiatives and state standards  

• Providing tailored professional learning experiences according to the needs of the program and community

• Providing social and emotional developmental resources to programs and families  

• Challenging behavior guidance for teachers and families 

 

This essential assistance helps level our city’s inequitable playing field, providing quality assistance and resources  to children and families in all NYC neighborhoods. ICs and SWs have been collaborating for many years to provide valuable support that helps make our littlest learners’ first school experiences joyful and rewarding.

 

We learned from a press release followed by media coverage on the Friday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend that we were losing our positions, that our hard-earned professional roles, work duties, locations and schedules will be thrown into chaos, negatively impacting our own children and families. A few days after the press release, we were all excessed, our positions dissolved. We are a dedicated and skilled team of educators and mental health professionals who believe deeply in the promise of equitable, best-quality early childhood programming for all, and we all deserve better.  

 

The press release, sent on behalf of Chancellor Banks at 2:01 PM on Friday, September 2nd, states: “It is this Administration’s ongoing priority to meet schools where they are with the resources they need; the reassignment of central and borough staff members brings resources closer to where they are needed in schools.” However, many programs are currently reaching out to their ICs with questions and requests for start-of-year visits, which we are not permitted to provide.   

We, the Early Childhood Coordinators and Social Workers, have requested a meeting with our UFT representatives and call for a postponement of this restructuring.

Please stay tuned for an upcoming virtual town hall. We will hear from teachers and leaders who are impacted by this change, and ICs and SWs who are trying to navigate the current situation in order to return to the important work of supporting programs.

 

 

United for Change UFT 2022 Election Complaint Filed June 6 - Time runs out for Full UFT response - Is Department of Labor next stop?

I wrote back in June:

Will the threat of going to Dept of Labor force reforms? Probably not, but by publicizing among UFT members, it will raise the idea that Unity is an entity of lack of democracy.

So why are we documenting these violations? There may come a day where the oppo is close enough to win and the Unity machine will actually attempt to steal the election and this document is a cease and desist order and also blueprint for the future where my hope is the oppo lays all this out up front before the election begins.

Sept. 6 the 3 month time limit the UFT had to respond to the United for Change election complaint ran out and according to Department of Labor rules, we have one month to go to the DOL to lodge the complaint. James Eterno, a major player in the complaint process, posted an update on the ICE blog where James has posted a list of complaints:

UFT BLOWS OFF MOST UNITED FOR CHANGE ELECTION COMPLAINTS THAT WERE FILED JUNE 6

You might recall that on June 6, 2022, United for Change filed 32 complaints with the UFT about violations of federal labor law and regulations in the recent UFT officer election by Unity Caucus -UFT. We reported on it here on June 10. We didn't say Hugo Chavez was hacking into election machines or that dead people were voting en masse. 

Right on that. It was all paper ballots despite our attempts to get electronic voting, opposed by the leadership because there is danger to have more people voting - call it Trump light. We observed the election counting process and while I have had issues with the way the process run by the AAA, we didn't spot anything in the actual counting process to raise any objections to in the complaint, which was about the campaign and the misuse of UFT resources to favor Unity Caucus. In other words, we are not claiming "The Big Steal." Unity has enough cheating opportunities in how they structure the election:

• The Cheat Goes On - UFT Democracy/Election Outrage...

Did enough votes get swayed by the actions we listed in the complaint? I will share my thoughts after the case is decided - if we go to the DOL. My personal goal is to affect future elections - stop district reps from using our resources. On the other hand, Unity leaflets are so lame and probably cost them votes so it's not a big deal to me.

On June 6, 2022 (celebrating my 51st wedding anniversary), I and other members of the United for Change election committee, filed a 75 page election complaint with the UFT. After 3 months, if we haven't received a final response from UFT & AFT, then we have a one month window to file with DOL. If we don't file, the internal process (UFT & AFT) just continues and we have the opportunity to file with DOL after we do receive the final response. 

James wrote:

Christina [Gavin] ended up being frustrated with me because I was rushing her to be timely with this action as the election is fading from memory. She wanted to be thorough and I think she succeeded while still managing to be timely. We thank her for her efforts.

I had a lot of back and forth between James, an old hand like me, and Christina over how to proceed.

Christina, who had never been involved in UFT politics until she pitched in to help with finalizing petitions in mid-February, led the way and James jumped on board. Over the past month Sheila Zuckowsky from Retiree Advocate lent her relentless analytical skills to the forensics. But it was Christina who brought an entirely new perspective to those of us who have been doing this for decades and just accepted the Unity machine would play with the election. She wouldn't accept the status quo. We had a lot of fun in this election. Kudos to her.

And of course working with James is always fun even if we fight a lot - which we have over the past 2o years - but it never gets personal.

And let me note that working with Christina since I first met her in mid-February added new insights into the election process for an old hand like me. She is reliable, relentless, demanding and meticulous in her work and as someone who had little experience with internal UFT politics, an amazingly quick learner. And is now on the MORE steering committee, which is a plus for MORE.

Before I proceed, let me go over key dates:

Feb.-March 2022 - AFT Candidate Christina Gavin contacts Department of Labor for advice on process for election complaints, the first time opposition forces explored this process as a way to curb Unity violations. She reports the UFT has 3 months to reply from date of complaint. Upon reply, the next step is to go to parent body, the AFT for appeal. DOL says we should follow the complaint process as set out in UFT by-laws. We find there are no bylaws. Only mention is in UFT constitution which states Ex Bd decides. Only candidates can lodge complaints.

March-April 2022: Individual election complaints filed. Unity Exec Bd rules. Christina comes under attack by Unity.

• Stop UFT/Unity Persecution of Christina - Sign an ...
• Christina Gavin Defends Her Reputation Against Fal...

Addendum: Since the election, Christina has continued to work hard in helping the union organize librarians and fighting budget cuts. She continues to not illegally use union resources or harass/behave aggressively towards anyone.

Christina does the work at John Liu Town Hall

Wed. Mar. 16 - At a meeting Christina and I had with Leroy Barr and UFT lawyer Beth Norton, she told us the UFT appeal process (which is not encoded anywhere - they make these up as they go along.):

1. contact UFT

2. LeRoy and Beth investigate

3. LeRoy presents a Report & Recommendation to the Executive Board

4. The Executive Board votes to approve or disapprove

5. Appeals to the AFT ATTN: Fedrick Ingram and David Strom

6. AFT appeals go to the DOL

May 11-12, 2022: UFT election officially ends with vote count.

May, 2022 - Christina Gavin compiles complaints into a 75 page document, with input from James Eterno.

Read the full complaint Christina put together (if she didn't do it no one would have to this extent): 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PvfYaxh7990D1J1J7uQ2WKCp67fH_YIXZ56JTKUsMh8/edit

June 6: UFC Election committee files complaint

(Note: There are still weeks to go until summer break and UFT Ex Bd still meets in June.)

July/August, 2022: James Eterno touches base with DOL officials asking for advice if UFT doesn't reply. He is informed that both the UFT and the parent body, the AFT, have 3 months to reply. James begins to point out that if we don't get a reply or get one very late, the AFT will run out of time on Sept. 6 as will the UFT. DOL surprised there are no by-laws.

August 26: Despite not having received a reply, we send a letter to the AFT informing them we have not yet received a reply from the UFT and urging them to get involved, giving them notice they are held to the same 3 month time frame as the UFT. We ask them to begin their own investigation. There is some confusion as to how we are appealing when we haven't gotten a reply to appeal yet?  We request that Randi Weingarten and 3 other AFT Council members recuse themselves since they ran on the Unity slate.

It is clear that we should have asked Unity caucus candidates in the UFT to recuse themselves too. We didn't.

Sept. 2, 2:45 PM: We receive a response from Leroy Barr which I don't see until 6PM.* 

Sept. 3: UFC sends an appeal to the AFT, following up on its Aug. 26 email.**

Technically the email we sent is not properly an "appeal" because we have not yet received a final reply. 

Sept. 6: 3 months DOL time limit expires for both UFT and parent AFT according to DOL rules.

Sept. 12, 19: UFT Ex Bd meetings - Possibility complaint will be reported and voted on.

Oct. 6: Deadline to go to DOL.  At this juncture (prior to receiving a final response), if we don't go to the DOL now, we can still go within one calendar month of whenever UFT & AFT complete their responses. 

Some don't think the process is even worth it. Others do. This decision must be made by the various groups in the UFC coalition together. 

My position is to wait to see what the UFT and then the AFT come up with. 

I will do a blog on the pros and cons of going to the DOL and the potential political fallout.

Here are the Sept. 1 and Sept. 2 docs.

NYC Contract Negotiations Stalled Due to Healthcare Retiree Medicare issue

Dalvanie Powell, president of the United Probation Officers Association, told City & State that the inability to start contract talks due to the unresolved Medicare Advantage controversy was problematic. ....the city Office of Labor Relations was holding off on contract negotiations pending a resolution of the Medicare Advantage controversy -- Harry Nespoli, head of MLC (Mulgrew is VP).

Who gets screwed first?

“We would probably be making 33% more in wages if we didn’t have to make the concessions to hold on to the health care for all these years,” said Joe Puleo, president of Local 983, which represents thousands of blue-collar workers. “A lot of our members don’t realize how it works, how these benefits are funded. They think the city just voluntarily picks up the tab.”

......Quote from union leader about how much higher salaries would be if they didn't have to negotiate health care costs. When will they support NY Health Act already? 

(LOL) - The UFT, which is unusual in that it permits retirees to vote and participate in the union, has started its internal committee process 

Excellent article -- No progress on contracts until Medicare issue settled -- screw retirees and then screw working members on health care. The major argument to oppose medicare for all concepts by unions has been that they spent decades bargaining for health care - our responses that if we didn't have to do that as in a universal system is that we'd be far ahead on salary and resources like class size and other working conditions.

Medicare Advantage - a thorn in union negotiations Article by Bob Hennelly

https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2022/09/new-york-citys-public-sector-unions-are-stuck-limbo/376793/

New York City’s public sector unions are stuck in limbo

Medicare Advantage has stalled labor contract renewal negotiations.

Our Life Expectancy Falls: Lack of Medicare for All a Factor ignored in mainstream press, California goes big

Although the U.S. health care system is among the best in the world, Americans suffer from what experts have called “the U.S. health disadvantage,” an amalgam of influences that erode well-being... These include a fragmented, profit-driven health care system; poor diet and a lack of physical activity; and pervasive risk factors such as smoking, widespread access to guns, poverty and pollution. The problems are compounded for marginalized groups by racism and segregation... The result is a high disease burden among Americans, and shorter life expectancy compared with that in comparable high-income nations over the last two decades, NYT

Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022

Norm's Key Takeaways:

• Our lowered longevity rate is due to our mostly privatized healthcare system.
• Medicare recipients who take advantage of it are probably the best cared for population and a reason for rising life expectancy in the over 65 - the drop is connected to the younger population.. especially due to drugs. Regular visits to a doctor are crucial and not everyone makes it a habit.
• A medicare for all system with control of drug prices would reverse things and lead to a rise in overall health and life expectancy. In areas with sparse medical coverage, privatized Medicare Advantage plans are often the only option - and some report decent care - if you don't get real sick.
• In the current political climate only a state by state approach will bring us a universal system. The blue states are the most likely. California was close to passing a bill and so has NYS - but the unions are an obstacle. They shouldn't be.
• The UFT and other unions should stop opposing the NY Health Act which would bring such a system to our state. Our union claims to support the concept but says only in a national system, which the chances of happening are nil.
• Medicare for all costs too much both parties say but billions for Ukraine, useless visits to the moon and defense -- no one says a peep except those on the left.

See: Labor Campaign for Single payer

California and Newsome is embracing a muscular role for government, contrasting the Clinton/Obama neoliberalism - a new left alternative to neoliberalism in the Dem party.

Even Biden in some ways has moved away from neolib. More like tiptoed. 

UPDATED BELOW

I've been on Medicare for almost 13 years and attribute my relatively good health to my ability to engage in preventive medicine. The article below points to the drastic drop in life expectancy in this country for the first time in a 100 years - since the 1919 Spanish flu. Yes, Covid has been a factor -- but also the number of deaths due to Covid is related to poor medical care, its high costs - for non-insured and even insured -- and yes the fact healthcare is privatized and profit making, leading to high salaries, advertising costs (Joe Namath ads), high admin costs, a less competent work force, etc. is a major reason we pay double than any other nation in the industrialized world - most of which has some form of a universal system.

But once you reach 65, you have access to Medicare, a government managed system that is better run with less expenses than any of the privatized systems. (I know due to my wife working for a major hospital with all the insurance companies and became a medicare for all supporter 40 years ago due to that work where she found Medicare the most competent and efficient.) It covers 80% of the costs and we need some system to cover the other 20%. UFT retirees get that 20% coverage through SeniorCare at a minimal cost. We all do pay monthly medicare costs out of social security - and through our working life we put money into Medicare. Medicare sets the prices it pays to hospitals and doctors and 98% accept it though they submit outrageous bills. Ie. I had pic lines put in at NYU for a bad infection - it was serious work - 3 people working on it for about an hour - so I can see it is not cheap. NUY submitted a bill to Medicare for $15,000. Medicare paid $650.

I feel reasonably healthy and believe in preventative medicine. 

I've had reason to use the medical system a lot over the past dozen years. Achilles, Broken wrist, a few bad infections, a few short bouts in the hospital, a turp on the prostate -- I know, too much information -- but I feel confident in the system. Which was why so many of us reacted so strongly emotionally at the threat of Mulgrewcare -- even if he was right -- he ignored the threat we felt. 

And by the way, we are still under threat of being forced into a MedAdv plan as Adams and Mulgrew partner up.

Of course the key is finding good docs you trust. Many of our friends use the primary doc we've been using for 30 years - we love him but it looks like he's heading for retirement. Talk about insecurity we all feel. He practices practical medicine - he has told me I sent all my commie friends to him - and he loves it.

I can see where there is waste in Medicare and the inability to negotiate for drugs leads to much higher costs -- even the new bill signed will not do as much as they claim. But fundamentally, both political parties have been trying to kill Medicare and move to the privatized MedAdv system for 30 years. A government controlled system has the capability and potential to set prices - though the lobbyists get to influence decisions and they are winning the battle to put a dagger into Medicare as 50% are in MedAdv and its growing -- with the Biden admin helping the privatizers. They are happy to force costs for medicare up so they can argue it's too expensive and then once it's gone it's Katy Bar the door -- the same with the charter argument -- let's kill public ed and then once unions are gone, drive down teacher salaries where they can - make us all like red states.

This month and next I have an ENT, dermatologist, podiatrist, cardiologist, urologist and my regular checkup. I do teeth every 6 months even though not covered. I do a hearing test every few years. Eyes every year for sure -  my dad had wet macular so I monitor things. Medicare covers my visits. GHI picks up the rest. Mulgrewcare would have taken me out of traditional medicare and put me in a 100% system of coverage. I and others just don't feel safe going there -- even though I know UFT retirees who chose a managed system on retiring and are happy - so far.

I did the gastro thing last year - both colonoscopy and endoscopy - they go in both ways at the same time. Most people I speak to never consider the latter. Years ago I was told by my doc that chronic heartburn can lead to cancer and the gastro guy explained to me how that can happen, so I've done a few. I was told by some I was going overboard.  Then two years ago a close friend with chronic heart burn found out he had stage 4 esophageal cancer. He died a few months later. I raced to get a test but I wasn't eligible for another year but the doc looked at the photos of my last one and assured me there were no signs. That cancer can be spotted early on with a regular endoscopy. Should everyone get one? If tums works ok on your heartburn maybe not. Who knows - but my friend's 4 months of hell cost the system a million bucks. Better safe than sorry.

I do not have a heart condition, though my dad had one and died of a heart attack - at 94. I'll take it. In a few weeks I will be seeing my cardiologist, who I see every 6 months. My primary care doc, who I see once a year for a regular checkup - unless I am sick or injured -  doesn't feel I need a cardiologist and is somewhat skeptical of the tests he does to monitor my heart. He feels just taking a statin every day helps keep my arteries clear. I wasn't taking statins when a simple carotid artery check showed signs of "schmutz" as my doctor terms it - and I immediately began to take the statin. I still have schmutz in my neck but it's under control. The cardiologist told me that the simple test is 88% predictive of a blockage in the heart. I also think it worth doing a stress test every few years at my age. Is the doc gaming the system with these tests? Maybe. I may only go once a year.

I love my docs - even though my great ENT guy is retiring and I'm seeing him for the last time this week. I especially love the old docs in my generation. 

My wife who was in the medical field doesn't do as much preventive medicine as I do. After working with them for most of her life, she may be allergic to doctors. 

Here's the NYT article: 

U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Again in ‘Historic’ Setback

The decline during the pandemic is the sharpest in nearly 100 years, hitting Native American and Alaska Native communities particularly hard.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/31/health/life-expectancy-covid-pandemic.html

While other high-income countries were also hard hit in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, most had begun to recover by last year, he said.

“None of them experienced a continuing fall in life expectancy like the U.S. did, and a good number of them saw life expectancy start inching back to normal,” Dr. Woolf said.

Those countries had more successful vaccination campaigns and populations that were more willing to take behavioral measures to prevent infections, such as wearing masks, he said, adding: “The U.S. is clearly an outlier.”

It was the largest reduction in life expectancy in the United States over the course of a two-year period since the early 1920s, when life expectancy fell to 57.2 in 1923. That drop-off may have been related to high unemployment and suicide rates during an earlier recession, as well as a steep increase in mortality among nonwhite men and women.

Although the U.S. health care system is among the best in the world, Americans suffer from what experts have called “the U.S. health disadvantage,” an amalgam of influences that erode well-being, Dr. Woolf said.

These include a fragmented, profit-driven health care system; poor diet and a lack of physical activity; and pervasive risk factors such as smoking, widespread access to guns, poverty and pollution. The problems are compounded for marginalized groups by racism and segregation, he added.

The result is a high disease burden among Americans, and shorter life expectancy compared with that in comparable high-income nations over the last two decades, Dr. Woolf said.