On a rainy November 13th evening in NYC a large group of people gathered in Times Square, and then marched to the headquarters of GHI, a non-profit health insurance company which faces privatization. The marchers were demonstrating in support of the passage of HR 676, a bill for national single-payer healthcare, and against the proposed privatization of GHI/HIP.
The demonstration was organized by many groups including Private Health Insurance Must Go, Healthcare-Now, rank and file union members, Socialist Action, The Socialist Party USA, and others. The following is a speech given by Zelig Stern, Secretary of the Socialist Party NYC local.We live in a moment where policy-makers believe the free market to be the answer to all problems. While protectionism may have been an evil of yesterday, all responsible trade barriers have been broken and replaced by so called "free trade," a policy devastating to workers and the environment both in the developed and less developed world. Domestically, public programs that Americans depend on have fallen victim to the seemingly unstoppable march of privatization. While the current economic crises may have started to wake people up to the dangers of these principles, their disastrous effects have been apparent since the beginning. Healthcare is an area where the effects of free market capitalism have been particularly catastrophic.
Fifty million people in this country are currently uninsured while another fifty million are underinsured and these numbers are only growing. This trend must be stopped! Two of the most recent targets of privatization are the not for profit insurance companies GHI/HIP. We cannot allow the march of privatization to go one step forward. GHI/HIP covers over 90% of city workers and their families. Privatization means increased premiums, increased co-pays, and increased denials. While New York State and New York City are promising huge cuts to social programs, New Yorkers cannot afford to have their health care hurled into the free market system.
It is not enough to stop the forward progress of this free market global takeover. We must present alternative systems. Once again the urgency to do this is nowhere more pressing than in health care. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege! That is why we cannot leave healthcare up to the whims of the free market and the health insurance companies. We need a guarantee that people will have healthcare and that the cost of their health will not be a burden on their lively hood. We must have socialized healthcare. This means worker and consumer control of the pharmaceuticals, health insurance companies, hospitals, and doctors.
The first step in achieving this promise is the creation of a national single payer healthcare system. While this is not socialized healthcare, it puts in place systems that will still be used under socialized healthcare, and removes a part of our health from the free market. It is a step toward the final goal. No compromise with the health insurance industry can provide this promise. This is why Obama's plan must be opposed. This is why we must pass HR 676 now. Not one more death for profit!!
Fifty million people in this country are currently uninsured while another fifty million are underinsured and these numbers are only growing. This trend must be stopped! Two of the most recent targets of privatization are the not for profit insurance companies GHI/HIP. We cannot allow the march of privatization to go one step forward. GHI/HIP covers over 90% of city workers and their families. Privatization means increased premiums, increased co-pays, and increased denials. While New York State and New York City are promising huge cuts to social programs, New Yorkers cannot afford to have their health care hurled into the free market system.
It is not enough to stop the forward progress of this free market global takeover. We must present alternative systems. Once again the urgency to do this is nowhere more pressing than in health care. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege! That is why we cannot leave healthcare up to the whims of the free market and the health insurance companies. We need a guarantee that people will have healthcare and that the cost of their health will not be a burden on their lively hood. We must have socialized healthcare. This means worker and consumer control of the pharmaceuticals, health insurance companies, hospitals, and doctors.
The first step in achieving this promise is the creation of a national single payer healthcare system. While this is not socialized healthcare, it puts in place systems that will still be used under socialized healthcare, and removes a part of our health from the free market. It is a step toward the final goal. No compromise with the health insurance industry can provide this promise. This is why Obama's plan must be opposed. This is why we must pass HR 676 now. Not one more death for profit!!