Public Employee Press

Political Action 2010
Mobilizing against cuts:
Saving public health care

The fiscal health of the city’s public hospitals topped the menu at legislative breakfast meetings held in January at several city hospitals. With the Health and Hospitals Corp. facing a $1 billion deficit for fiscal year 2011 — plus an additional proposed reduction of $9.5 million in state funds — participants agreed that Gov. David Paterson’s hospital cuts must be stopped.

“We cannot let these cuts interfere with HHC’s mission,” said City Council member Daniel Garodnick Jan. 22 at Bellevue Hospital.

On Jan. 30, at Harlem Hospital, HHC President Alan D. Aviles called for sparing Medicaid from further cuts, pointing out that the program provides 70 percent of the revenue for HHC’s hospitals.

Gov. Paterson and Sen. Charles Schumer also spoke at the Harlem meeting, which drew 300 residents, union members and health-care activists. “I know how hard hospital employees work,” said Schumer, whose mother worked at Coney Island Hospital for 40 years.

Activists from the Healthcare Education Activist Team urged concerned citizens to call Gov. Paterson and state legislators at 1-877-255-9417 and press them to permanently reauthorize Disproportionate Share funding for HHC. HEAT is a coalition of Municipal Labor Committee unions that mobilizes members and works with HHC and community and faith groups to protect health-care services. Members can get involved in saving city health care from cuts by calling 212-815-1550 for petitions and alerts.