Thread by @NYSenatorRivera

To be clear: In a global pandemic the most vulnerable, many of them Medicaid patients, will be the ones to be most severely impacted. THIS strikes at them directly...and this dude simply REFUSES to #MakeBillionairesPay

(Thread 1/???)

nypost.com/2020/03/19/cuo…

Since I can walk and chew gum at the same time, I can do the following: Laud @NYGovCuomo for his decisive actions and able staff who are keeping New Yorkers informed during a time of crisis AND...

...publicly question the morality of a decision that will directly impair the ability of the system designed to serve the poor and working class of our state to do what it’s supposed to do: keep them alive and healthy...

Sir: On behalf of the million of New Yorkers on Medicaid who tonight are going to sleep scared wondering whether an elderly family member or an immunocompromised child will test positive for #COVID19 tomorrow...

...On behalf of the hundreds of thousands (or more) of workers who will be laid off because of this pandemic who will find themselves without health insurance and will hope the Medicaid system is there for them...

...On behalf of the safety net hospitals across our state like @SBHBronx who were teetering on the edge of insolvency even before this pandemic was widespread....

...On behalf of every patient at @NYCHealthSystem who would not have access to care if it wasn’t for Medicaid...

...On behalf of the dozens of social service agencies who receive Medicaid funding and are reeling from the impact of this crisis even before the above cuts go into effect...

...On behalf of every healthcare practitioner, be they a doctor or nurse or home health aid or what have you who serve the most needy every day and even more during times of insecurity...

...On behalf of all of them and every New Yorker whose life is touched by this program...I beseech you: do not continue with this plan.

...I know you and your people will ignore me at best, or ridicule my concerns as plain old misunderstanding of your efforts to “right size the system” while snidely trolling me at worse...

...I know you’ll argue that this was an “inclusive” and “transparent” process, as every MRT member who spoke glowingly on the phone meeting today said...

...I know you’ll direct your rage at me however diminutive you perceive me, because you can’t have anyone question you publicly and live to tell the tale, no siree...

...But this is not about you or me, sir. It is about the millions of New Yorkers who are served by this system. It is about the pain and the uncertainty that they are already feeling. And it is about the enormous pain they are about to feel if these proposals go through...

...And lest we forget, sir, It is about those billionaires and millionaires who you refuse to tax at this moment of great crisis when those among us with more should be required to step up and help the most needy.

You have an opportunity to truly be a bold leader, sir. Once we come out at the other end & some stability is achieved, commit to truly working with the legislature to #PassNYHealth to guarantee care for every New Yorker so we can be prepared for the next pandemic

The experts you are wisely listening to will tell you: this won’t be the last one. Can we truly be safe and healthy with a system that has a market mentality at its core?

The biblical economic impact ahead will only be worsened by letting insurance companies remain at the center of healthcare decisions, unlike a single payer system in which health practitioners are.

Look: I know at this point I’m some crazy bald Puertorrican shouting at windmills and that most folks will ignore my pleas as you are rightly praised for your actions during this crisis.

But I hope, I truly truly hope, that you will not be lauded for this one. For this #MRT2 debacle. You don’t deserve to be.

#ProtectMedicaid #MakeBillionairesPay

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