Fair Share For Health Care Initiative

Description:

This is continuing the test of creating a DFA-Link based issues coalition as discussed at April's State DFNY Conference.

Fair Care For Healthcare is a multi-party legislative initiative created by the Working Families Party to bring a Maryland style "Walmart Law" to New York State. We believe DFA groups around the state can play a significant role in achieving this goal.

BACKGROUND

DFA on the national level has shown a strong interest in cooperating with New York’s Working Families Party and also in educating Americans about the problem, even peril, posed by Walmart’s unscrupulous business tactics. DFA had major actions in 2005 on Walmart.

Healthcare is a major part of the ongoing Walmart scandal. The latest wrinkle is that Walmart is now coaching it’s workers on how to apply for Medicaid, the government funded public health insurance program for the less well off. Last year New Yorkers paid $61,497,000 in Medicaid benefits to Walmart employees.

Walmart is now the biggest and richest company in America. The Walton family, which mostly owns Walmart, is now the richest family on Earth, richer even than the Queen of England, the Sultan of Brunei or the Saudi Royal family. They do not need a $61.5 million dollar subsidy from the tax payers of New York.

New York is one of the last states in the union still partly funding Medicaid on the county level. Approximately 25% of all Medicaid costs are borne by county governments in NYS. SInce there is no municipal income tax in New York outside New York City, these costs are the most important factor driving up property tax rates in upstate communities, seriously contributing to Upstate's economic tailspin. (Property tax rates outside New York City are actually higher than they are inside the City.)

ANALYSIS

This upward pressure on property tax rates is where DFA groups across NYS can play a role.

County legislatures and boards of supervisors are in an uproar over Medicaid costs: they want the state legislature to go to full assumption of Medicaid costs, taking Medicaid off their hands and relieving property taxes.

The state legislature, for its part, doesn't want to do this because it would mean an increase in the state income tax.

Fair Share For Healthcare gives everyone something: if Walmart and companies like it have to pay for employee healthcare, Medicaid costs across the state will in fact go down. State legislators will be able to say to the counties, who are putting real pressure on them for assumption, that they have done something about Medicaid costs, getting them off the back of the legislature. That will make legislators happy. Any reduction in costs will make the counties happy, even if it isn't full assumption. Liberals and progressives get to move the ball closer to the ultimate goal posts of full coverage for everyone. That's how the healthcare game will be won; a yard at a time. We help establish a key point: healthcare is a basic human right, not a privilege, not something that is just another consumer choice in a market society.

TACTICS

How do DFA groups across the state make this happen? We already know how-- we did it before with Social Security. We ask our State Assemblymembers and Senators to meet with delegations of local DFA members and other concerned citizens who want to join us. We explain Fair Share For Healthcare. We also explain what's in it for them.

There is already substantial support in the Assembly. What we really need to do is flip some Senators on this issue. There are dozens of DFA Linkups across NYS. If they all met with Senators and Assemblymembers, the potential to get those extra votes is there.

This especially applies to Republican members of the legislature. It is a multi-party bill. But conservative legislators from suburban and rural counties can go back to their districts and tell angry county governments that they have actually done something to relieve their problem. The beauty is they were able to do it without a tax hike-- and what's not to like about that?

We made meetings work on Social Security. We can do it again with Fair Share For Healthcare.

There will be a talking points sheet for the meetings and suggestions on how to set up a meeting with legislators on the documents section on this page.