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Call Goes Out for Help on Health Care Reform |
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Written by Jeff Radford
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Sunday, 06 January 2008 |
“The next three weeks are critical. Please help us now!” wrote
Corrales’ Mary Feldblum, seeking support for health care reform in the
2008 New Mexico Legislature.
Feldblum, who heads the Corrales-based Health Security for New Mexicans
Campaign, sent out a mass-mailed letter in mid-December to drum up
political and financial help as her group fights for universal medical
care in the legislative session that starts January 15.
Donations can be sent to the campaign at PO Box 2606 Corrales NM 87048. Feldblum can be reached at 897-1803.
The Health Security Act that she and other health care advocates have
honed over the past ten years will compete in the legislature with
Governor Bill Richardson’s plan. Feldblum criticized the governor’s
Health Solutions New Mexico bill for having no mechanism to control
spiraling health insurance premium costs, no guaranteed minimum level
of benefits and no freedom to choose health care providers, as well as
being more expensive.
In her December letter, Feldblum pointed out that “after commissioning
an exhaustive study of three health care reform models for New mexico,
our governor rejected the study results because they clearly prove that
the Health Security Act is the only cost-effective and comprehensive
plan that has been put forth. Why would he do that?
“Why would Governor Richardson reject a plan that holds great promise
for the 22 percent of all New Mexicans who can't afford health
insurance, and the hundreds of thousands more who are faced with rising
health care costs and have serious problems with their coverage?
“There is only one credible answer,” Feldblum wrote. “He has sold out to the private insurance industry.”
During the coming session, she said, “the governor will attempt to
convince the New Mexico Legislature to establish a ‘Health Coverage
Authority.’ His proposal mandates that everyone purchase private
insurance or enroll in public programs, sticking expensive band-aids
over the current failed system in order to keep money flowing to the
insurance industry. But his plan won’t guarantee affordable,
comprehensive coverage,” she maintained.
“In the next few weeks, we must mobilize our forces around the state to
make certain their legislators hear them loud and clear. The insurance
industry will stop at nothing to undermine us, weaken us, or disable
us, because they know we are putting forth the only viable health care
system for New Mexico, one that cuts off their system of guaranteed
profits at the expense of our health care.”
Feldblum’s call-to-action listed the 15 municipal governments around
New Mexico which have endorsed the Health Security Act: Corrales,
Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Silver City, Los Lunas, Carlsbad, Belen,
Bayard, Deming, Fort Sumner, Grants, Hatch, Las Cruces, Mesilla and Las
Vegas.
In addition, 12 county governments have endorsed the bill advanced by
Feldblum’s Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign: Sandoval,
Bernalillo, Cibola, Doña Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Mora, Otero, Rio
Arriba, Taos and Valencia.
Citizens need to make a “full-court press on legislators who may be
sitting on the fence, or who are not very informed about the governor’s
unsound and costly proposal,” she added. |
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