[Nyclocal] Fwd: ** - 5/16 - 6:30p - Organizing Meeting - Coalition Against Privatization

[William Wharton]

--- No Privatization <noprivatization at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 12:30:01 -0700 (PDT)
> From: No Privatization <noprivatization at yahoo.com>
> Subject: ** - 5/16 - 6:30p - Organizing Meeting -
> Coalition Against Privatization
> To: No Privatization <noprivatization at yahoo.com>
> 

---------------------------------
Friends,

The next meeting of the Coalition Against
Privatization will be held on Friday May 16th at 6:30p
at the A. J. Muste Institute, 339 Lafayette Street,
buzzer #11.

We will review our May 9th & 12th actions, plan future
events and begin to prepare for the big June 19th
joint rally with Healthcare NOW!

Below is yet another news article about the GHI/HIP
privatization with, yet again, a negative spin on it.


City rips for-profit insurance plan				  			   						 
       			   			    																					 								
Daily News - Lisa Colangelo


				   				  Wednesday, May 14th 2008,  4:00 AM			   
			   												    																													   
									   			   	    																



Ifyou work for the city or have ever worked for the
city, chances are youand your family have health
insurance through the nonprofits HealthInsurance Plan
and Group Health Incorporated, better known as HIP and
GHI.

In fact, I have several vivid childhood memories of
sitting in theorange-colored (it was the '70s) HIP
center waiting rooms after theusual bumps and falls,
for vaccinations and other health tests. 

Back then and especially now, affordable health
insurance is a keybenefit for city workers. It helps
attract people to apply for and stayin civil service
jobs. 

The city says 93% of active city workers and retirees
have their health insurance through HIP and GHI, which
is why Mayor Bloomberg is livid over a proposal to
make them a for-profit company. 

The city says the value of HIP and GHI is largely
because of whatthe city and its employees pay. The
city, alone, pays $4 billion toinsure its employees
and retirees. 

Last week, Bloomberg sent a lengthy memo to New York
State Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo detailing
the city's opposition to the conversion. 

"City workers and retirees, indeed all city residents,
should nothave their health insurance benefits
endangered by this conversion to asingle for-profit
entity," Bloomberg said. "The conversion to a
singlefor-profit entity could increase health care
costs by hundreds ofmillions of dollars, and threatens
the health and financial well-beingof city workers and
retirees." 

Bloomberg also blasted the idea that HIP chief
executive Anthony Watson could get almost $20 million
in stock options as part of the deal. 

"We don't need city dollars intended to protect
hardworking cityemployees and retirees used instead to
pad the compensation of healthcare executives," he
said. 

Dinallo has the power to accept or reject the
conversion. 

On its Web site, GHI disagrees with the city's
concerns. 

"As a combined for-profit company, it will be better
able to competeagainst large national commercial
insurers, as access to the capitalmarkets allows
improvements to technology infrastructure,
productofferings and customer service," reads the
information on the GHI Website. 

"It is expected that conversion will have no impact
upon the delivery of health care benefits," according
to the statement. 

The city, for one, isn't buying it. 

"The conversion will fundamentally shift GHI and HIP's
legalobligations from doing what is best for their
members and the publicgenerally to pursuing the
largest profit possible," the city said inits memo.