Sullivan panel probes impact of Senate’s health-care plan

June 27--HARRIS -- The Senate's proposed health care bill is "Russian roulette with a population that's already dying," as described by David Gerber during a panel of experts at Catskill Regional Medical Center on Monday night.

The Republican party's attempt to repeal Obamacare only affects those who are already hurting: the working poor, the elderly and the addicted, to name a few, said Gerber, the chief clinical officer and co-chair for the Hudson Valley-Catskill Coalition of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers.

The panel was one of 11 hosted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to explain the potential impact of the Senate's new health care bill, according to a press release.

The Senate's Better Care Reconciliation Act amends the House's American Health Care Act and would put an estimated 2.7 million New Yorkers at risk of losing health insurance, according to Cuomo's press release.

The act would lead to $7 billion in cuts to the state's health care system in the next four years.

On Monday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released an estimate that the Senate's bill would increase the number of uninsured people by 22 million people by 2026, only slighter lower than the 23 million estimate for the House's American Health Care Act.

The Senate's proposal would also trim the federal deficit by $321 billion through 2026, the budget office said.

But trimming federal funding will only push the health care burden elsewhere, according to Fran Fox-Pizzonia, vice president of education and public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Mid-Hudson Valley.

"Most healthcare systems can't pick up the slack immediately, which would mean that people would be forced to delay their access to services," Fox-Pizzonia said.

The taxpayer would feel the strain -- just from a different level of government, Gerber said.

"The burden of the uninsured and the underinsured will fall on the taxpayers," he said. "The lessening of the federal burden will merely pass on costs to states and counties."

Another goal for President Donald Trump's administration is job creation.

But Kathie Aberman, a Sullivan County resident at Monday's panel, questioned what the Senate bill could do to jobs nationwide.

"How many jobs are going to be lost in this state, in this country?" she asked.

According to Anne Nolon, president and CEO for Hudson River HealthCare, it would be a devastating number.

Community health centers and organizations that rely on federal funding would have to cut back on hours, services or even staff, Nolon said.

Unfortunately, the health care issue is no longer about health care, according to Caren Fairweather, executive director of the Maternal Infant Services Network of Orange, Sullivan and Ulster Counties.

It's all about party lines, she said.

"We've got to change the conversation," Fairweather said. "It's about caring for our citizens, not about political affiliation."

Senate Republicans hope to pass the bill before the recess at the end of the week, said Paul Francis, the Governor's Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services.

If the Senate's bill passes, representatives from both the Senate and the House would need to reconcile the two bills and vote again.

However, Francis described the Senate's bill as a "secretive" act being pushed through.

He wouldn't be surprised if the House voted on the Senate's amended version as soon as possible, he said.

With the Republican party's small majority in the Senate, 52-48, the vote could be close.

aspadaro@th-record.com

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