Bethpage-Tribune_1996-01-26

              BRAJEET
u»*e YOUR OFFICIAL HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER
Serving Bethpage, Island Trees, Plainedge, Seaford, Old Bethpage & Plainview
VOL 30 NO. 4 JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 1996 40 CENTS
HEALEY WORKS TO PROTECT
RIGHTS OF PATIENTS
Legislation to protect the rights
of New Yorkers who participate in
health maintenance organizations-
(HMOs) is a legislative priority in
1996, according to Assemblyman
Phil Healey, R-C, Massapequa, the
deputy Republican leader of the
state Assembly.
"The rapid growth of HMOs in
New York state has created a
system which lacks the proper
checks and balances necessary to
protect the interests of health care
consumers and providers," said
Healey. "It is our responsibility in
the state Legislature to provide
these important protections."
Healey said he supported a bill
which passed this week in the
Assembly, requiring HMO's to
cover a 48-hour hospital stay for
new mothers and their infants.
"New mothers and their babies
have been hustled out of the
hospital, sometimes less than 24
hours after birth, simply as a way
for these insurers to cut costs,"
said Healey. "At the very min­imum,
women and their children
deserve the right to an extra day
in the hospital to recover. Ensur­ing
the health of both mother and
babv should be the primary con­cern.
Now, this safeguard will be
mandated by law."
Healey said he plans to support
additional'reforms to protect HMO
members, which include:
— full disclosure of a managed-care
entity's plan;
— establishment of extensive
grievance procedures and due
process protections for consu­mers
and participating providers;
— establishment of criteria.that
an.HMO may use to select, retain
or exclude a provider from its
managed-care plan; and
—regulation of how plans may
deny treatment or referral to a
specialist by a primary-care
physician.
The; assemblyman said one bill
that did pass both houses of the
Legislature, and was signed into
law this year, was a measure which
allows a patient to go outside the
managed care plan to choose his
or her own health-care provider.
Also known as "points-of-service,"
this was the only provision of the
"Health Care Bill of Rights" to be
signed into law in 1995. The law
requires HMO's to offer members
a contract allowing them to
choose a physician outside the
plan. Consumers, however, must
pay a portion of the costs.
"The Legislature needs to keep
pace with brisk changes in health
care today, if we want to protect
the health and well-being of New
Yorkers," said Healey. "As we
move to contain health-care costs,
the use of HMOs will become even
more prevalent in New York. We
must take appropriate steps to
ensure they are consumer-friendly,
as well as cost-efficient."
SENIORMOBILE TO VISIT BETHPAGE
The Seniormobile of Nassau
County will be at the Bethpage
Public Library on Thursday, Feb­ruary
8 from 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.
The Seniormobile brings profes­sionally
trained staff from the
Department of Senior Citizens
Affairs directly to communities
throughout Nassau County. Infor­mation,
assistance and consulta­tion
services are provided to
senior citizens and their families
in the areas of health care, socia'
security, tax-relief, housing
employment, consumer utility
information, legal matters, and
much more.
Mark the date on your calendar
to come to the library and acquaint
yourself with the services that are
available through the Seniormo­bile.
Appointments are not
necessary.
The library is located at 47
Powell Avenue, two blocks west of
exit #8 of the Seaford-Oyster Bay
Expressway (Route #135), phone
931-3907.
BRETTON RECEIVES $2500
FROM PLAINVIEW-OLD BETHPAGE
ROAD RUNNERS
Pictured here (L to R) POBRRC's Ed Kovesdy, Carolyn
Robertson off LDDS WORLD COM and Christine Cummings
off LDDS WORLD COM make the presentation to Gary Bretton
(R).
Among the highlights of the
January 16 meeting of the
Plainview-Old Bethpage Road
Runners Club was the presenta­tion
of a check for $2500 to the
Bretton Bowl Fund for the needy
families of Bethpage.
The money was raised from the
highly successful Ho Ho Ho Jingle
Bell Run held on the roads of
Bethpage on December 23, and
was presented by POBRRC Run
Director Ed Kovesdy and Carolyn
Robertson and Christine Cum­mings
of Run sponsor LDDS
WORLD COM to Gary Bretton.
"We are- thrilled to be able to
donate this significant sum to help
further the outstanding work that
Gary is doing for the community
through the Bretton Bowl," noted
Kovesdy. "Both the Ho Ho Ho Run
and the Bretton Bowl are very
important events for the Bethpage
community, and it's great that we
can work together for the common
good."
"Our thanks again to our most
gener6us sponsor, LDDS WORLD
COM, for making this all possible."
We're looking forward to still
another successful Run on
December 21, 1996," Kovesdy
concluded.