To the Editor:
Hardly anyone can deny health care needs reform. The only issue is how that reform is achieved. A government takeover or a public option are not the answer.
As government employees, every day we see incredible waste and policies that create inefficiency and nonsense.
Right now, our membership enjoys what is probably the best coverage and choice in the country, as do most government employees. We have incredible choice as to plan and doctors.
PEF’s primary concern should be for members.
The most important benefits state employees cherish are job security and medical and dental insurance. What will the union negotiate to make up for this loss? Shouldn’t our dues pay for PEF to campaign for things that benefit the members?
ROY TORRES
Westbury
Editor’s Note: PEF’s position on national health care reform is the Single Payer plan, which means everyone would have the same benefits. That position has been established repeatedly by the elected delegates to PEF’s annual conventions, the highest policy-making body in PEF. (See related article.)
Better health reform options
To The Editor:
As someone who retired with 31 years experience in health care administration and more than 20 years in health care finance, I agree reform is needed. However, currently proposed legislation is deficient in several ways.
Malpractice tort reform is needed. The current system encourages the expensive practice of “defensive medicine,” and inflates all medical costs.
We must recruit or train more primary care physicians. A shortage of primary care physicians contributes to the excessive use of emergency rooms and also encourages patients to go directly to specialists, who are more expensive.
We must expand the availability of clinics and urgent care centers, which can do many of the things done in emergency rooms for less cost.
Finally, we must repeal the myriad laws, rules and regulations which restrict comparison shopping for insurance coverage. Plenty of good choices are out there, if people only had a chance to choose them.
HOWARD G. BAUMGARTNER
Troy
Offering free PTSD treatment
To the Editor:
Your article on “Supporting the Warrior” by Deborah Miles (September 2009) explores the suffering of New Yorkers affected by the wars in the Middle East, including the effects of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on veterans.
PTSD is a treatable illness. At New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City, we are conducting a research treatment study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, which offers individuals suffering from PTSD one of three different kinds of psychotherapy for PTSD for 14 weeks at no cost.
Individuals who do not respond to the study treatment are offered an additional three months of treatment at no cost.
Veterans or their family members who may have PTSD are encouraged to call Helena Rosenfeld at (212) 543-6747.
JOHN C. MARKOWITZ, MD
New York City
The Communicator Letters policy
We welcome letters to the editor about union issues and events relevant to PEF's diverse membership. All letters are subject to editing for space, fairness and good taste.
Please keep them brief (up to one page, double-spaced or a maximum of 250 words), and please include your name and phone number for verification.
Send letters to thecommunicator@pef.org:
The Communicator
Public Employees Federation
P.O. Box 12414
Albany, N.Y. 12212-2414
Email to Sherry Halbrook, Editor or Darcy Wells, Editor-In Chief
