Candidate Wants to Bring a Public Option, Healthcare Vans, to New York State
Anna Lewis, Attorney, and Candidate for State Senate in New York's 31st District, is focusing on improving healthcare for New Yorkers.Her plans include bringing a public option to New York State, promoting health education, caring for the environment, and increasing screenings for diabetes, asthma and other diseases that disproportionately affect lower-income neighborhoods.
While campaigning on Dyckman Street and Broadway in Inwood, Anna Lewis announced, "It is my intention to bring a public healthcare plan to New York State, as an expanded adaptation of San Francisco's successful program. President Obama's plan does not provide a public option, and requires a majority of Americans to purchase private health insurance, leaving many without the means to do so in a difficult financial position."She continued, "A public option will instigate market competition and encourage private insurance companies to lower rates, providing taxpayers with more available options in sustaining their good health.If there is any matter that requires public funding, it is healthcare - and New York can become a shining example to the nation."
Ms. Lewis also stressed expanding efforts towards preventative healthcare, "As a long time Type 1 Diabetic and Diabetes Activist, I understand the disease's detrimental effects on one's health. It is the number one cause of blindness in this country, a complication that if caught early enough is preventable. Lower-income areas like Washington Heights are disproportionately affected by diabetes, asthma and sexually transmitted diseases."She continued, "This is why I have a plan for public and private entities to partner in a healthcare van program, in which a fleet of fully integrated and computerized vans will service targeted communities.These services will include screening for various diseases, performing routine checkups, keeping detailed medical records, and providing preventative healthcare for people otherwise unable, or unwilling, to see a doctor.Care will be financed publicly, or by personal insurance. Vans will be partially funded by leasing their exterior space for advertisement to corporations, hospitals, and insurance companies, who can utilize them as bases for grassroots marketing campaigns through tabling, leafleting and community outreach."
Ms. Lewis concluded, "Preventative healthcare, in addition to a rigorous stewardship of our environment, will save us billions of dollars in emergency room and hospital costs, which is good for our economy, our physical and mental well-being, and the financial health of New York."
Anna Lewis, an Attorney for 26 years, has served as Lead Counsel to the New York State Assembly's Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation, an Assistant Chief Administrative Law Judge with the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, and is currently a prosecutor with New York State's Health Department, where she prosecutes physicians and physician assistants for professional misconduct, including cases involving insurance fraud, negligence and the sexual abuse of patients. She is a 25 year resident of the Upper West Side.