Rep. Ed Towns Addresses Hundreds of Brookdale Hospital Workers & Supporters at 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers Rally

On Friday June 10^th, Rep. Edolphus ‘Ed” Towns addressed Brookdale University Hospital workers (1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers),at a rally outside of the facility. The dispute between the union and Brookdale is over the failure of Brookdale Hospital management to make payments for health coverage. In a statement released last week the Congressman put his support behind the workers. “These workers entered into a good faith contract and it is the responsibility of the State Department of Health to see to it that every effort is made to resolve this dispute in favor of the workers and the community”, said Towns.

Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito of East Harlem is 1 of Just 2 Politicians in Upper Manhattan by Frank Lombardi - NY Daily News

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Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito is one of just two uptown politicians

Women are scarce in uptown elected offices. The list begins and ends with Democratic City Council members Inez Dickens of Harlem and Melissa Mark-Viverito of East Harlem, both Democrats.

That's just two out of 11 uptown legislators on the city, state or federal levels, or 18%. The city's population is 52.3% female and 47.7% male.

"It's a shame - that's embarrassing," said Mark-Viverito. "It's an indication that we haven't done enough to open doors to women to be in those positions."

Mark-Viverito and Dickens took contrasting paths to win their Council seats in 2005.

Dickens, 61, is an insider who was was invited to the party. She's a protegé of Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel and his co-leader in the potent Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club. Her late father, Lloyd Dickens, was a prominent Harlem insider.

Dickens was elected her first time out in the 9th District (Central Harlem and parts of Morningside Heights, the upper West Side and East Harlem). Then-incumbent Bill Perkins was blocked from seeking reelection by term limits, and is now a state senator.

Mark-Viverito, 41, is an outsider who had to crash the party to win her seat in the 8th District (East Harlem, parts of Manhattan Valley and a piece of Mott Haven in the Bronx).

Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, she came to New York at 18 to attend college, earning a BA from Columbia and a master's from Baruch College. She then worked for several nonprofit agencies, including the Hispanic Education and Legal Fund (HELF) and ASPIRA of New York, and was a strategist for 1199 SEIU, New York's health-care union.

She said she was involved in East Harlem issues and causes through her work, but got more involved after moving into the district in 1998. She made her first Council bid in 2003, getting crushed in a crowded primary against incumbent Philip Reed.

Two years later, with Reed term-limited, she won a six-candidate primary by 167 votes - becoming the first Puerto Rican woman to represent the East Harlem Council district.

Single and guarded about her private life, she explained that her hyphenated name comes from the last name of her late father, Anthony Mark, and the maiden name of her mother, Elizabeth Viverito (whose father was of Italian-American heritage). Her father was a doctor and a founder of San Pablo Hospital in Bayamón, where her mother still lives.

Mark-Viverito has a reputation for being outspoken and for embracing controversial issues - sometimes to the consternation of fellow Council members.

"Maybe that's why I won't be able to look at any other position, because I don't play well with others sometimes," she joked.

One recent example is her call for a pardon for Oscar Lopez Rivera, a Puerto Rican independence activist serving a 70-year sentence for "seditious conspiracy" involving the FALN paramilitary group.

Mark-Viverito insists Rivera, now 68, was never linked to FALN violence and bombings. She said his pardon after 29 years in prison would be "a matter of justice." The U.S. Parole Commission rejected a pardon last month, and Rivera remains in prison.

Her trail of controversies could also hurt her chances of moving up to Council speaker in 2013, when current Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Chelsea) is forced out by term limits. Dickens also has been mentioned, among others. The new speaker will be chosen by a vote of the 51 Council members.

"I'm very flattered that people think that I may have the capacity and the ability to be in that position," Mark-Viverito said. "I mean people talk to me about it ... so I don't exclude it. I definitely want to be involved in that process."

Demand Your Mortgage Note..!!

Wheres the Note.org


The big banks' BS is starting to catch up to them.

Last week, JPMorgan Chase announced they were halting foreclosures in 23 states. Turns out, the bankers in charge of approving the foreclosure paperwork weren't even reading what they were signing. Now, one by one, foreclosures at America's biggest banks are grinding to a halt. It's gotten so bad, several states are taking the banks to court - calling for an immediate freeze on all foreclosures.

The banks created this mess, it's on them to clean it up. You have a right to know if your mortgage is affected.


Wall Street has bought and sold our mortgages so many times, they've lost track of who owns what. And now they're getting caught red handed. In one state, two banks tried to foreclose on the same home. In another state, BofA tried to take a house away from a man who'd never even had a mortgage. The more we learn, the worse it gets.

Banks are calling these "technical glitches." These are more than technical glitches. These are monumental screw-ups that are forcing families out of their homes. The banks raise our rates and change our terms - and if we make one mistake, we pay with our homes.

Don't have a mortgage? Pass this on to someone who does. Every single homeowner needs to know if their bank still holds their mortgage note.

Go to: Where's the Note.org


SEIU.org

Walmart? FUHGEDDABOUTIT! - New York Communities for Change.org

On June 23rd, New York Communities for Change, alongside Working Families Party, RWDSU, SEIU local 32BJ, and the New York City Council Progressive Caucus (among others) rallied on the steps of City Hall to protest the proposal to open a Walmart in Brooklyn.

The message was clear - hard-working families in Brooklyn and throughout the 5 boroughs are OPPOSED to Walmart's low wages and mistreatment of employees.

NYCC and our allies put together this video message to Walmart. Wanna open up shop in Brooklyn? FUHGEDDABOUTIT!



Spread the word about the fight to stop Wal-Mart and share the video with your family and friends!

HAARM.org - Message Strategy Session

Who's behind the anti-health care reform rhetoric? Meet HAARM: Health Americans Against Reforming Medicine...

Upcoming Rally in Support of Health Coverage for Home Birth - Outside SEIU on Wednesday, March 18th

Afternoon Hearing Will Determine Coverage for Union Employee’s Wife

New York State Law Covers But SEIU Rejects

NEW YORK – Choices in Childbirth, a New York City nonprofit that helps women make informed maternity decisions, is holding a rally to support a 3:00 PM hearing for Julie Finefrock. Ms. Finefrock is six months pregnant and medically eligible for a home-birth, which she has chosen for herself and her baby, but for which she has been denied coverage by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Ms. Finefrock’s husband is an SEIU employee and she is appealing her denial of coverage.

Under New York state law, Ms. Finefrock would have the benefit of medical insurance coverage, yet the SEIU, because it provides a self-insured health policy to its members, has found a loophole to exclude coverage for planned homebirth care via the Employee Retirement Income Support Act (ERISA). This federal law sets minimum standards for retirement and health benefit plans in private industry. Ms. Finefrock is asking the SEIU to give her parity with non-union NY State residents and allow her to choose the medical care that evidence has shown is both safer and more economical than hospital birth.

Choices in Childbirth has unfortunately found a growing number of self-insured corporations using this ERISA loophole. It is Choices in Childbirth’s belief that New York State residents deserve equal coverage regardless of their employment situation, and encourages the SEIU to support appropriate maternity care in line with that of New York State law.

WHAT: Rally in support of appeal to the SEIU to cover home births, as New York State law permits

WHERE: Outside SEIU 32BJ, 101 Avenue of the Americas

WHEN: Wednesday, March 18^th at 11:30–1:30; hearing is at 3 pm

Choices in Childbirth

At Choices in Childbirth, our mission is to improve maternity care by providing the public, especially childbearing women and their families, with the information necessary to make fully informed decisions relating to how, where, and with whom they will give birth. www.choicesinchildbirth.org.

For further info, contact: Kelly Renn, kelly@choicesinchildbirth.org, 212-867-9646

Addabbo Lays Out 3 Point Healthcare Plan at Ozone Park Pharmacy...

Doctors Council SEIU Endorses Addabbo for Senate

Dr. Frank Proscia, Executive Director of Doctors Council SEIU, Joe Addabbo and John Rossi of Rossi Pharmacy, Ozone Park

Gathered at Rossi Pharmacy (84 01 101 Ave, Ozone Park) with the Vice President of the Doctors Council SEIU, Councilman Joe Addabbo laid out his 3 Point Healthcare Plan to address the rising cost of healthcare. Having also earned the endorsement of the New York State Nurses Association, Addabbo has made healthcare a central platform of his campaign.

“Healthcare is one of the primary concerns of the 21^st century as the cost of coverage escalates and insurance companies continue to encroach upon the clinic. We need to put health care back into the hands of the doctors and nurses who think first about the patient, and second about the bottom line. But we also need to take steps to improve existing programs and expand our options. In these tough economic times, working families need real solutions to their basic concerns. We must to more and I have a plan,” said Councilman Addabbo.

“Doctors Council SEIU is the largest union of attending physicians and dentists in the country, representing over 3,000 doctors from the public and private sectors in the New York City area. Joe Addabbo has been a strong advocate for the rights of workers. And the proposals he’s making today demonstrate his commitment to providing all New Yorkers with the best possible healthcare. We have worked with Councilman Addabbo in the past and look forward to working with him as a member of the State Senate. Now more than ever, we need elected officials who believe that access to healthcare is a priority,” added Dr. Frank Proscia, Executive Director of Doctors Council SEIU.

With that in mind Addabbo explained his 3 point plan:

1) Convert Life Insurance to Long Term Care Coverage

Addabbo supports a proposal which would allow New Yorkers to convert the anticipated value of their whole life insurance policies into immediate, but discounted, cash to pay for the long term care they require either at the end of their lives or in the event of a disabling health crisis.

This measure would reduce state Medicaid expenditures by providing more liquid assets that New Yorkers can use to pay for their nursing home and home health care needs.

2) Expand the Income Threshold for EPIC (Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage)

EPIC is a New York State program that helps seniors pay for their prescription drugs. More than a of a quarter million EPIC enrollees are saving an average of 90 % of the cost of their medicines. Most enrollees have Medicare Part D or other drug coverage, and use EPIC to lower their drug costs even more by helping them pay the deductibles and co-payments required by their other drug plan. EPIC also helps members pay for Medicare Part D premiums.

Currently, the eligibility requirements for EPIC are capped at 35K for an individual and 75K for a couple. Addabbo supports existing legislation (S2257) to expand the income threshold to 50K for an individual and 75K for a couple.

If coverage were expanded, an additional 35,172 seniors in Queens County would be eligible for EPIC.

All of these approximately 35,000 newly eligible seniors would be protected from the gap in Medicare Part D coverage which totals $1,650, the Medicare Part D “blackout” period between $2,400 and $4,050 in prescription expenses.

However, historical trends in EPIC enrollment show that, at the high end of income eligibility, only a small percentage, 10%, of eligible seniors enroll in EPIC. This is primarily due to the availability of alternative coverage and high deductibles at the upper end of EPIC coverage.

Using the historical EPIC participation rate of 10% of those eligible, approximately 3,500 of the 35,000 newly eligible would enroll in EPIC.

However, if only 3,500 Queens seniors were to enroll, they could still see aggregate savings of $5.8 million due to EPIC coverage of the Medicare Part D gap.

The measure would also obviously result in considerable Medicaid savings as well.

3) Single Source Drug Coverage

Addabbo expressed the need for better coverage for all New Yorkers, but emphasized the negative effects of the three-tier drug pricing system on minority communities. According to the NYC Dept. of Health Southwest Queens has one of the highest percents of uninsured adults among the 42 neighborhoods in NYC (23%), and foreign-born residents in this community are less likely to have health insurance than those born in the U.S. Similarly, in Southwest Queens, 23% of residents do not have a regular doctor, which means greater reliance on emergency rooms, and less emphasis on preventative care.

A May report released by Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) revealed that New York’s biggest HMOs are denying or restricting access to single source drugs with no generic equivalent. Drugs like Lipitor, Plavix, Lexapro, and Advair treat common conditions such as high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and asthma.

Lipitor, for example, is the most commonly prescribed prescription drug to reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease. It is also a single-source drug with no generic equivalent. While there are other medications (called “statins”) that reduce cholesterol, it is believed that Lipitor’s unique active ingredient makes it especially effective for certain patients, particularly those with acute coronary syndrome or those that have already had a heart attack

In many cases, minority communities are disproportionately impacted by the practice. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2006, 31.6% of non-Hispanic blacks, age 18 and over suffer from heart disease as compared to only 22.4 %of non-Hispanic whites. The American Hearth Association lists diseases of the heart and stroke as the No. 1 killer of Latino/Hispanic Americans. They claim the lives of 28.6 percent of the more than 122,000 Hispanics or Latinos who die each year, with cancer follows, at19.7 percent. On average, Hispanic Women develop pre-hypertension indicators such as obesity ten years earlier than White women, at a rate of 32% contrasted to the incidence in White women at 17%.

Similarly, there is repeated evidence of the connection between poverty and poor health such as obesity, a high sugar diet which can lead to diabetes and heart disease, exposure to pollution and other toxins which contribute to respiratory ailments and asthma, as well as depression.

Insurance companies use formularies to categorize drugs. Formularies are typically comprised of three tiers with Tier 1 consisting of generic medications, Tier 2 consisting of proprietary (brand name) medications, and Tier 3 including proprietary drugs for which no generic exists as well as other more expensive medications.

Patients pay the least for Tier 1 drugs, while paying more for Tier 2 drugs, and even more for Tier 3 drugs which are typically called non-preferred. For some employee and individual benefit plans, Tier 3 drugs may not be covered. Other restrictions include: Medical Exception; whereby a patient and doctor request a medical exception, which must then be granted by the insurance company; Prior Authorization/Pre-Certification of the drug by the insurance company, Quantity Limitations, and Step Therapy (Step Protocol): prerequisite medications (one or more) prior to approval of the physician-prescribed drug.

Of the major HMOs operating in New York, 14 place restrictions on medications that are disproportionately required by African-American and Hispanic-American New Yorkers.

Of the largest Insurers, Oxford had the most restrictions on drug coverage, placing restrictions on 13 of the 19 single source drugs needed to treat conditions from which African Americans and Hispanic Americans disproportionately suffer, and 18 restrictions overall.

Aetna and Health Net are tied at second place with a total of 17 restrictions each on 10 and 13 drugs respectively. Finally, Independent Health Association restricts access to 12 drugs for a total of 16 restrictions overall.

Oxford and Independent had the most drugs listed under the expensive third tier, 9 and 4 drugs respectively.

GHI, Aetna, and Excellus listed the largest requirement of step therapy, while Independent required prior authorization most frequently.

Health Net had the highest incidence of quantity restrictions, placing limits on 13 medications, followed by Aetna (10) and Oxford (9).

Of the drugs surveyed Lipitor and Singulair are the most restricted. Lipitor was restricted by 8 of the 15 companies, with a total of 19 restrictions. Singulair, a preventative medication for asthma, has 14 restrictions by 11 companies that limit access.

For the 9 medications for mental health-related conditions, 12 companies had restrictions in place. There was a total of 14 restrictions placed on Lexapro by 10 different companies. Abilify and Cymbalta were restricted by 8 HMOs totaling 10 and 11 restrictions each.

Addabbo supports existing legislation, which would require that all medically necessary prescription medications approved by the FDA be covered by the insurance company.