MYD in 2009

Well, folks. It’s been about nine months since we relaunched MYD’s online presence and www.goMYD.com was brought into the world. It’s been a great year for the organization, and we thought the best way to share our successes is with a very self-indulgent, four-minute video and photo montage.

I’m off for the next couple weeks on some much needed vacation, so things will be slow around here until the new year. A huge thanks to you, our readers and supporters, who have helped us get the site established and have contributed to its fantastic growth since launch.

Check out Al’s post below on Board positions opening up in January.  We need great leaders who are willing to work their asses off to get some serious change done next year. We have the potential to make a huge impact on state politics in 2010. If you’ve been reading our blog, you know that reform will not come easily — but also that the Empire State is on the brink and needs our help more than ever before. Ask yourself: if not in 2010, then when?

I hope to see you at the elections in January. Happy Holidays to all — and enjoy the video!

Senators — We’ll Be Back

From NY ME advocates:

Daily News: Liz Benjamin

Funny/Sad

Reason To Love New York 2009 #2: Because Our Politicians Refuse to Quit

New York is the city of ego; that’s part of our excellence, the belief that we’re the best, the most indispensable, the toughest, the fighter who won’t quit even when bloodied and dizzy. Sometimes, of course, that attitude blusters into shamelessness and produces questionable results. But Governor Paterson’s Brooklyn declaration of resilience is a perfect expression of admirable New York indomitability, a quality shared by an entire crop of our current politicians: They refuse to go away, even when the law, the voters, or sanity says they should.

Stop The Bait-and-Switch on Annual Limits

NYBri on TAP:

The AP is reporting, via Jon Walker at FireDogLake, that Senator Reid has gutted one of the most important consumer protections in the HCR bill, the ban on annual limits.

The fact that this language has found its way back in the bill despite promises on the part of the Democratic leadership that protecting consumers of health care (and those who need it most BTW) was priority number one, is an especially large outrage among a series of outrages.

Here’s the language the HELP committee’s bill had in it regarding limits:

SEC. 2711. NO LIFETIME OR ANNUAL LIMITS.
`(a) In General- A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage may not establish lifetime or annual limits on the dollar value of benefits for any participant or beneficiary.
`(b) Preventing Fraud and Abuse- This section shall not apply until the date on which the Secretary certifies that enacting this section will not result in undue proliferation of fraud and abuse, especially with regard to durable medical equipment.No equivocation there. Clear and to the point.

Here’s the language that is now in the HCR package:

SEC. 2711. NO LIFETIME OR ANNUAL LIMITS.
`(a) In General- A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage may not establish-
`(1) lifetime limits on the dollar value of benefits for any participant or beneficiary; or
`(2) unreasonable annual limits (within the meaning of section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) on the dollar value of benefits for any participant or beneficiary.
`(b) Per Beneficiary Limits- Subsection (a) shall not be construed to prevent a group health plan or health insurance coverage that is not required to provide essential health benefits under section 1302(b) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act from placing annual or lifetime per beneficiary limits on specific covered benefits to the extent that such limits are otherwise permitted under Federal or State law.That one little word, unreasonable, is pointed out by me for obvious reasons. That one word is the loophole that we KNOW insurance companies will use as if it’s a a black hole into which billions of our dollars will disappear.

We need to stop this bait and switch NOW.

Please call Senator Schumer and Congressman Rangel now and insist that we go back to the HELP committee’s language:

Schumer: 202-224-6542
http://schumer.senate.gov/new_…

Rangel: 202-225-4365
rangel@mail.house.gov

Want to know what we are up against? Jane Hamsher has just pointed out that the Department of Health and Human Services has been pushing for this switch-a-roo all along.

This from the HHS’s own web site:

Ensures consumer protections in the insurance market. Insurance companies will no longer be able to place lifetime limits on the coverage they provide, use of annual limits will be restricted, and they will not be able to arbitrarily drop coverage.In this case, they replaced the word “unreasonable” with “restricted.”

Just one little word will mean billions in profits to the Health Insurance Companies, and it seems that there are many in DC who are more than willing to make that happen. That money will come out of the wallets of citizens who need protection the most.

Shame on them.

Make the calls.

Last General Meeting Of The Year + Bring A Toy!

When: TONIGHT, Tuesday, December 15, 7pm – 8pm

Where: NY State Democratic Committee HQ

461 Park Avenue South, 10th Floor New York, NY, 10016 (map)

Quote of the Day: Spitzer 1, Cockroaches, 0

Shamed former AG Eliot Spitzer, “whose cast-iron ego will outlast the cockroaches in a nuclear war” has a decent shot at success at returning to elected office, says Andrea Peyser of the Post.

According to the Guardian (which asserts “There’s A Big Difference Between Eliot Spitzer and Tiger Woods“), there are rumors he wants to run for state comptroller next year.

Yikes.

Members of the Week: Foreign Affairs Committee

Three members of the Foreign Affairs Committee are being honored this week as Members of the Week: Kanem Johnson, Junko Ishikawa, and Jared Cohen.  These individuals organized an an expert panel to discuss the Israel-Palestine conflict: “Voices for a Two-State Solution: How To Resolve the Israel-Palestine Conflict”–replete with approximately 80 audience members, 5 panelists, 5 co-sponsors, a donation, and a great venue.

Here’s a bit more about these MYD rock stars!

Kanem Johnson grew up in New Haven, CT and attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.  Moved to New York in 2005 for work and has worked in the financial sector ever since.  Currently works for Citigroup maintaining interests in History, Literature, Athletics, and Cuisine.  Joined MYD-Foreign Affairs Committee in 2009 and has contributed to the Human Sex Trafficking Policy paper and most recently the Israel-Palestine discussion panel.  Enthusiastic about taking MYD to greater levels of influence and bringing global awareness to New Yorkers.

Junko Ishikawa from Tokyo, Japan, has been working as a media consultant and Japanese-English translator for various international organizations, including NGO (PeaceBoat Japan), Sony USA, Broadband Enterprises and Daiwa Securities in the last 9 years. Upon completing her translation assignments in Vietnam and Kenya, she moved to New York City in 2000. Junko is also a professional videographer, having done various political campaign projects, including the NYC mayoral race and the Manhattan DA campaign in 2009.  After much consideration, she now plans to shift her career toward public service with a heavy international focus. She is looking forward to studying International Policy and Diplomacy, and specifically wants to put her study focus on the security issues at a grad school in New York.

Jared Cohen is originally from Westchester, New York, Jared joined MYD’s Foreign Affairs Committee in 2009 and has since worked on the group’s September policy paper advocating legislation for human sex trafficking and its most recent Israel-Palestine discussion panel. By day, he works in energy project finance for a Japanese bank.

A huge thank you Kanem, Junko, and Jared — and to all of the other Issue Committee members who have worked so hard this year to make great policy recommendations and get them out into the world.

Join A Community Board in 2010

Get involved in your Community Board in 2010! (Not sure what they do? Here’s our primer.) From the office of the Manhattan Borough President, Scott Stringer:

Attached you will find the Community Board Application for 2010 and information regarding the planned Community Board 101’s for this year.  One of the best ways for people interested in joining the community board to learn more about what the board does, what is required of members, and how to become a member is to attend one of the 101’s.

This year the Borough President’s Office will be hosting three informational sessions.  They are on:

- Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 1 Centre Street starting at 6:30 PM
- Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 163 125th Street starting at 6:30 PM
- Monday, January 11, 2010 at 711 West 168th Street starting at 6:30 PM

Anyone interested in applying to the Community Board is encouraged to attend one of these sessions.

2010 Community Board Application

Info Sessions

MYD Targeted as GOP Threat

As a South Carolina native, I worry about the honor of my home State. We’ve had a run of national embarrassments lately: Miss Teen SC in ‘07, GOP Gov. Mark Sanford (R) cheating on his wife while vowing to stay in office and Congressman Joe Wilson (R) yelling “You lie” at the President while  he was addressing Congress.

I couldn’t take it anymore, so I invited Rob Miller, the Democratic challenger to Joe Wilson, up to New York for a small fundrasier. To my surprise, the SC GOP noticed: (See Right –>).

That’s right, the Palmetto Scoop, a local Republican e-zine, decided to print a SC GOP dig… against us. They try to lambaste Miller by tying him to us “New York City liberals” (ouch… feel the burn?). Also, why does the GOP operative they cite, Ryan Meerstein, hate NYC liberals so much? Could it be because he worked for the Giuliani Presidential Campaign? Maybe.

In any case, thank you Palmetto Scoop, for the web traffic. And, for pointing out that the SC GOP has nothing better to hit Miller with. Maybe next time you could just send me an email so I can save you the embarrassment. I’d be happy to tell you why I, as a South Carolinian and president of the Manhattan Young Democrats, support Rob Miller for Congress.

Sincerely,
Al Benninghoff
South Carolinian and President of the Manhattan Young Democrats

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