The Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), one of 17 Bronx-wide sponsoring organizations, is inviting the public to join an All Bronx Virtual Town Hall on April 11 at 6 p.m. for a discussion on the proposed New York Health Act (A6058, S5474).

 

The event will feature NYS Sen. Gustavo Rivera, chair of the New York State senate health committee, and NYS Assembly Member, Richard Gottfried, chair of the New York State assembly health committee. Rivera, who represents the 33rd senatorial district in the Bronx, and Gottfried, who represents the 75th assembly district in Manhattan, will explain how the New York Health Act will enable the 22 percent of Bronx residents who have no health insurance, and the 50 percent of Bronx residents on Medicaid how to access the healthcare they need.

 

Organizers of the town hall say the New York Health Act covers all necessary medical care, including medical, prescription, vision, dental, hearing, long-term care and support services, mental health, substance abuse treatment, and reproductive care in one comprehensive plan, with the freedom to choose a provider, no more networks and no more co-pays.

 

Dr. Barbara L. Estrin is a member of “Not 62: The Campaign for a Healthy Bronx,” an initiative which aims to combat the fact that, as previously reported by Norwood News, the Bronx has, for ten years running, ranked 62 out of the 62 New York counties when it comes to healthcare outcomes, as recorded each year by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Estrin said this chronic situation has contributed to the disproportionate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Bronx.

 

She said it has also been well documented that the borough was the epicenter of the Covid Crisis in the spring, and said it is now also the epicenter of the financial crisis emanating from the pandemic.

 

During the event, organizers said six speakers from the local community, representing some of the 17 sponsoring organizations will put the legislation, as it relates to the Bronx, into context for attendees. In addition, they said the speakers will answer any questions residents may have on what they call “this ground-breaking legislation,” and they will also explain how it will guarantee universal, comprehensive healthcare to all residents of the borough.

 

Organizers of the event also appear positive in the knowledge that for the first time in history, a majority of both the State Assembly and the Senate are now co-sponsors of the New York Health Act. They said that with a super-majority in both houses of the legislature, the bill can survive any possible veto by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

 

The sponsoring organizations participating in the town hall are:

• Bronx Health Reach,
• Trinity Family Health Center,
•  Mothers on the Move,
•  Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center,
•  New York State Nurses Association,
• Campaign for New York Health
• Commission on the Public’s Health System (CPHS)
• Cooperative Home Care Associates
• New York State Nurses Association
• 1199 – SEIU
• Banana Kelly,
• The Point CDC
• Concerned Citizens for Change
• Nos Quedamos,
• The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative,
• Northwest Bronx Indivisible
• Chinese-American Planning Council

 

Speakers from the following organizations are scheduled to actively participate in the town hall:

• Bronx Health Reach
• Campaign for New York Health Act
• Chinese-American Planning Council
• ·Commission on the Public’s Health System (CPHS)
• Cooperative Home Care Associates
• New York State Nurses Association

 

New York Assembly and Senate representatives from all Bronx districts have also been invited to attend the town hall to voice their support for the legislation.

 

Members of the public are encouraged to register for the event here: http://bit.ly/2021Not62TownHall