The Affordable Care Act (ACA) envisioned an expanded, improved Medicare-type system, offering high-quality, low-cost comprehensive health coverage, without regard to age, income, employment status or existing health conditions, using providers you want. But as happened with Medicare D, the for-profit health insurance industry hijacked ACA, ensuring that outrageous executive salaries, excessive bonuses, inflated administrative costs and profit-driven policies/operations would continue to make healthcare unaffordable and unattainable for millions of Americans. Corporate greed wrecked the ACA and affordable healthcare for all.

But people are fighting back, heeding the clarion call of New York State Assemblyman Dick Gottfried for voters to break the stranglehold of for-profit corporations on healthcare by demanding replacement of ACA with a truly low cost, universal health insurance program, NY Health. Here’s how you can be part of this ground-swell movement: on May 5, hundreds will march on Albany to deliver the message that healthcare is a human right, with no room for corporate profiteering. If you can’t march, call your Albany representatives to demand passage of the NY Health bill now. It’s a silver-bullet fix for health insurance that will cover all New York residents, save money and save lives. If not for yourself, do it for someone you love.

Star D. Hesse

Narrowsburg, NY