Union kicks off statewide fight against secret health insurance contracts
FacebookTwitterEmail
Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, a Queens Democrat, speaking at a press conference in New York City on Sunday, June 6, 2021. The press conference was held to announce the Hospital Equity and Accountability Law, or HEAL. provided
ALBANY When the 32BJ union health fund crunched the numbers on how much its members were paying for colonoscopies, knee replacements and baby deliveries, it was stunned to learn they were paying 358 percent more at New York Presbyterian hospital than those on Medicare policies.
Sara Rothstein is the director of the 32BJ health fund, which provides health insurance for 190,000 members and family members of the Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ. Rothstein said the health fund analyzed costs for its members for some of the most common surgeries, finding that costs were exorbitantly inflated.
Labor leaders are throwing their weight behind Eric Adams in the New York City mayoral race.
Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, has won three major labor endorsements in the past two weeks, cementing his status as one of the top candidates in the crowded Democratic primary field.
As Mr. Adams rose, Loree Sutton, one of the first women to join the race, dropped out, and the campaigns pushed to qualify for public matching funds. Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate, announced over the weekend that he had raised an impressive fund-raising haul.
Here is what you need to know: