A Celebration of 48 Years of Medicare

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On July 30, 2013 local activists from Metro Justice, Band of Rebels, and Single Payer NY carried a "Happy Birthday" banner and 48 blue and white cupcakes to the office of Assembly member Harry Bronson. The celebration was in commemoration of the signing of Medicare into law by then president Johnson 48 years ago in 1965. Medicare is a single-payer health care system for people over 65. Bill A7860 has been introduced into the New York Assembly by member Richard Gottfried of Manhattan. Bronson, who represents much of Rochester is a co-sponsor. A similar bill S5425 has been introduced in the New York Senate.

Unlike "Obamacare" which requires everyone to purchase private insurance or pay a tax penalty, the New York bill would actually provide health care for everyone. It would be funded by a graduated tax on income. It will work similar to the Federal Medicare program only it will cover everyone. It is also similar to Canada's Medicare which is what they call their national health system. Our neighbor to the east, Vermont, recently enacted a similar program. Vermont is barely the size of Monroe County. New York State is roughly the same size in both population and economic wealth as Australia, a country which has one of the world's best single payer health systems. Canada's successful system began in the province of Saskatchewan before spreading nationwide. New York and Vermont could set a similar trend for the US. For those fortunate enough to have it, much of the health insurance today is provided by employers. The cost of insurance keeps increasing, putting a burden on businesses and discouraging the hiring of more workers. Removing this burden from both large and small businesses would make New York a lot more job-friendly. General Motors has long lamented that it costs more per car for employee health care than it does for the steel it's made out of. Bruce Popper of the Service Employees International Union pointed out that more automobiles are manufactured in the Canadian province of Ontario than in Michigan and Ohio combined, because employers in Canada are not burdened with employee health care costs. The celebration was begun and ended with songs from Rochester's Raging Grannies.