Healthcare Toolkit
How You Can Take Action
Contact Local Officials
Make the New York Health Act (NYHA) a priority issue in Albany! As a constituent, contact your legislators demanding they support the bill and bring it to the floor for a vote. Call and/or write them again and again!
Governor Kathy Hochul
NYS State Capitol Building, Albany, NY 12224
Phone: 1-518-474-8390
www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form
You can tell her it is time for the passage of the NY Health Act. In the face of a federal government willing to undermine our healthcare to give tax breaks for billionaires and corporations, millions of NYers are going to see cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Essential Plan. Our premiums will go up, and the cost of healthcare will become too much for some. Hochul needs to act. If not now, when?
State Senators and Assembly Members
Common Cause has a great tool you can use to find all of your representatives. By just entering your address you can get the phone numbers for your State Senator, your Assembly Member, as well as all the other electeds who represent you.
https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/#
Other than your state Assembly member and Senator, the key legislative proponents include Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assembly Member Amy Paulin, who are the primary sponsors of the bill. Call or email them to show your support; the more people who call to support, gives them more proof they have for leadership to push the bill for a vote in Albany.
The two leaders of the State Legislature to contact are:
Andrea Stewart Cousins serves as the Majority Leader of the New York State Senate.
Stewart-Cousins (518) 455-2585
Carl E. Heastie is the 100th Speaker of the New York State Assembly.
www.nyassembly.gov/mem/Carl-E-Heastie
Heastie 518-455-3791
What to say:
Sample Letters / Phone Message: State that you are either a constituent or a concerned citizen in the state of New York.
Hello .
My name is .
I am contacting you on behalf of the New York Health Act. There is simply too much suffering as a result of our broken healthcare system. No more delays! The NYHA must be brought to the floor for a vote and passed! My future votes will be determined by whether or not my leaders take a stance on this critical matter. If not now, when?
Or
Hello .
My name is .
I am calling to ask you to do ALL in your power to pass the NY Health Act. Too many of us are either uninsured or underinsured, and with the terrible federal cuts, this should be a top priority for ALL our public servants. My vote for you in the future is dependent on you taking action—NOW. It is a matter of human dignity.
Or, create your own!
HAVE YOUR LEGISLATOR TAKE THE NYHA PLEDGE
Ask legislators to sign The New York Health Act Pledge and post it on their websites
Please send the pledge below to your legislators and be sure to tell them that we will show our support by praising their courage and concern on social media and at our meetings and civic events.
As a proud representative of the great state of New York, I pledge to make the well-being of my constituents my #1 priority.
Since the concept of well-being is inextricably tied to health, it is unacceptable to me that countless New Yorkers are either underinsured or uninsured. Given the egregious federal cuts to both Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, our healthcare crisis has only worsened, putting more than 1.5 million New Yorkers in grave danger of not being able to afford even basic care. In a Democracy, especially a rich democracy like ours, I believe healthcare should not be a privilege for the wealthy but rather a right for all people.
In order to promote this essential right, I am wholeheartedly supporting the New York Health Act and will do all in my power to promote its passage, including being a co-sponsor, educating New Yorkers regarding both its excellent coverage and financial viability, and bringing it to a vote. I shall also post this pledge on my website in an act of solidarity with my constituents.
When the NYHA is passed, New York will act as a courageous model for the rest of the United States. I am dedicated to being part of this historic event. The time is now!
Legislator Name and District ___________________________________
Legislator Signature / Date_______________________________________
Stay Informed by Subscribing to the Patients Before Profits Newsletter
Democracy works best when voters are informed and involved! If you read the articles and view the videos in the Patients Before Profits newsletters, you will be an informed healthcare voter. It’s free, and we’ll never ask you for money. Patients Before Profits is not published on a regular schedule. Rather, it goes out only when we come across a worthwhile article or video about our broken healthcare system, how to change it, and/or when there is a special healthcare event.
Subscribe for updates with the Bronx Chapter of NYPAN for the newsletter here http://eepurl.com/i1cVJU
Also of great value is the website Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) NY Metro Chapter. New Member Interest Meetups are held every month & you’re invited!
PNHP NY Metro Chapter website www.pnhpnymetro.org
Help Keep Your Doctors Informed on the NYHA by Using These Letters
NYHA Volunteer to Provider
Dear Healthcare Provider,
As a purchaser of healthcare services, I am reaching to you as one of my providers. I am a member of a large, statewide coalition which is working to assure the passage of the NY Health Act (NYHA) in 2026. We are aware that In fact, the NYHA will enable doctors to collectively negotiate their fees through the NYHA infrastructure (including for Medicare and Medicaid) and create a more stable reimbursement schedule. The NYHA promises to save billions of dollars in NY, returning those savings to the doctors and patients. No more haggling with the insurance companies to cover the treatments that doctors and their patients deem best. Doctors will increase their professional autonomy and decrease their administrative burden, which we know is very costly. Through this piece of legislation, doctors will retain their earning potential as funding shifts to the doctors and away from the monstrous administrative costs caused by having to deal with multiple insurance companies. Physicians get a bigger share of a bigger pie as no patient is uninsured or underinsured. Every New Yorker would have comprehensive and equal coverage. This is more comprehensive than any other health plan (includes vision, dental, hearing, long-term care and mental health). Doctors will know that whoever walks in the door is covered. Doctors will have the security of knowing they are assured of payment. Premiums, co-pays, and deductibles are eliminated. Waste, fraud, and profiteering are eliminated from the system. The cost is covered by a progressive tax on income. This single-payer model costs less than the current system. The numbers are based on conservative estimates from the RAND Corporation that showed savings compared to the current system at $11 billion in NYS. Our team has been giving short presentations to physician groups and business managers/admins across the state. We would be happy to have one of our experts meet with your group and admin staff so we can better understand your issues and concerns about the NYHA and debunk any myths. Alternatively, if you are already a supporter – please share the “Provider to Provider” letter with other colleagues.
Thanks for reading all this. Feel free to contact me for follow-up.
Provider to Provider
Dear Colleague/Medical Care Provider,
We are a part of an alliance of Physicians, Physician Groups, Medical Business Managers and Hospital Networks that is focused on passing the New York Health Act (NYHA). Our deep belief in the need for this legislation drives us to reach out to our colleagues to ensure the word gets out and that we eliminate any misinformation about NYHA.
This landmark legislation would eliminate the insurance industry from our healthcare system. Every New Yorker would have comprehensive and equal coverage, and treatments would be based on the patient’s needs, not their wealth or the varying policies of their particular insurer. Treatment decisions will be between you and your patient.
You can learn more about NYHA here: https://www.nyhcampaign.org/aboutnyha.
This link provides a comprehensive view of how passing the NY Health Act will benefit doctors:
At the end of this letter, we will ask for your assistance... by meeting with your colleagues to carry the word forward and by using the link below to help the effort.
Among the NYHA’s many benefits for healthcare providers:
Providers can focus on patients, freed from burdensome financial paperwork
Doctors retain their earning potential
Doctors increase their professional autonomy
Streamlined administration and a single payment source save providers money
Patients have the security of always being covered
The New York Health Act would take private insurance companies out of the equation and extend coverage to all New York residents. The NYHA will simplify and streamline your reimbursement process, while saving you, your patients, and the state billions per year. It will reverse decades of inequality by financing care through equitable progressive taxes, rather than regressively through payments by those who are ill and through flat premiums. We desperately need to end the horrors of delaying needed care due to insurance company interference and relegate medical bill-related bankruptcy to a footnote in history books. With your help, and that of your Business Managers, we can make healthcare a guaranteed right for all New Yorkers!
Please Sign the Current and Future Physicians Letter in Support of the New York Health Act:
Sincerely,
(signed by Provider)
Spread the Word
Needless to say, the more New Yorkers who support and demand passage of the New York Health Act, the better our chances of getting it passed!
Post your support on all forms of social media ~ over and over! Perhaps make a TikTok video.
Tell your friends! ~ all your friends! Invite them to join our effort and to sign up at The Campaign for New York Health
If you are a union member, speak to leadership and co-workers about putting union dues into BETTER WAGES, instead of healthcare. Give them this wonderful flyer that proves the NYHA is good for workers, good for unions!
Show and share these 3 wonderful mockumentaries. The videos are crowd pleasers and brilliantly explain the necessity for the NYHA: Healthcare Conspiracy! (22 minutes) and Firefighters (2 1/2 minutes) and The Cure for PTSD (2 minutes). Mayor Zohran Mamdani is in the first two!
healthcare conspiracy www.vimeo.com/1043508873
firefighters www.youtu.be/e0bthHQ7uAQ
the cure for PTSD
www.youtu.be/lrVw5zMtT-U?si=tH2LkQvyIJKakTNV
Consider having a party/meeting at your home, community center, or church/synagogue/mosque. Let us know your plans by contacting the Campaign for the New York Health Act (www.nyhcampaign.org) and we will guide you, answer questions, and suggest pertinent materials. (You may even decide to show a mockumentary video!) Remember to tell folks: The NYHA saves ALL of us money.
See Rand Study:
www.nyhcampaign.org/howwepayforit
www.nysenior.org/rand-corporation-validates-that-nys-can-afford-universal-single-payer-healthcare
We believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege.
We also believe New York can be a model state for the millions across our country who desperately need and deserve quality, guaranteed healthcare.