Myths And Concerns About Single-Payer Health Care To Be Addressed At Event At Stony Brook Southampton Campus

For those interested in an in-depth look into the concept of single-payer health care, the Progressive East End Reformers organization is hosting an event at the Stony Brook Southampton college campus this weekend.

PEER is a South Fork-based grassroots organization formed in 2015 and is a chapter of the New York Progressive Action Network, which has been lobbying for the approval of the New York Health Act.

The event, “Myth Busting: Separating Fact from Fiction in Single-Payer Health Care,” on Saturday, February 29, will be held at Chancellor Hall auditorium on the campus, beginning at noon.

New York Health is an alternative method of single-payer health care that would replace the existing multi-tiered system of employer-provided insurance, individually purchased insurance, and federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and those mandated under the Affordable Care Act, creating one unified state-sponsored system.

Experts say it would be an economically efficient switch, saving both the state and a majority of taxpayers money, while providing broader coverage to more people overall.

As of 2019, one more vote was needed in the State Senate for the act to be passed. It has been approved in the Assembly over several years, but it did not come to a vote last year.

On Saturday, attendees will be given the opportunity to share their health care stories either on video or via a photo with a posterboard to send to Albany in support of New York Health. There will also be information that will break down the facts of our current health care system.

The forum will begin at 1 p.m. and will feature an informative conversation with Dr. Martha Livingston, a professor and vice chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the New York Metro chapter of the Physicians for a National Health Program, and Dr. Cheryl Cashin, a health economist, PEER member and managing director at Results For Development, an international nonprofit organization that promotes global health and education.

PEER Co-Chairwoman and Sag Harbor resident Kathryn Szoka said that health care is one of the most important issues the group has been advocating for on both a national and state level.

“The health care system today is evil. It’s devolved in the last decade. Private health insurance companies have been taking advantage of people and raising prices,” she said. “Health care has gotten worse in this country. That’s why people say it’s their No. 1 concern this election season.”

Ms. Szoka said that, at the forum, attendees can participate by submitting questions via a link on their cellphones to be answered by the doctors. They can also participate in a health care quiz, in which they can guess the costs of some health care-related procedures and services.

“We wanted to take the opportunity to unpack some of the biggest myths and give historical perspective on universal health care,” said Dr. Cashin. “Our health care system is in crisis. The Affordable Care Act did a lot of good things, but there still is a system modeled around a private insurance company.”

Dr. Cashin attributes huge increase in deductibles, copays and the new phenomenon of surprise bills to the method of health care we currently have. She added that the largest issue at hand is the number of under-insured people.

Organización Latino-Americana, or OLA, of Eastern Long Island will be providing headsets for live translation of the forum in Spanish.

There will be a reception after the event with light refreshments.