Alliance Members Respond to
NYS Insurance Department

“it feels like a breath of much needed fresh air to be part of a group that cares about people and how they feel, that responds to their needs , not to make a profit , but to make a difference in their lives.”


To Whom It May Concern:
I live in the state of Minnesota. I am the Administrator of the School of Homeopathy here. I have a $10,000 deductible individual health insurance policy for my protection since I receive homeopathic care and rarely need medications or consult allopathic doctors.
When I heard about the Ithaca Health Alliance, I joined because I was thrilled that there was a group of citizens who came together and through their own collaboration, had the mission of deciding for themselves how to structure their personal health care. When I looked at the Alliance's rules, I was pretty sure that I would never ask for nor receive reimbursement based on any procedures that I participate in. However, the goal of being responsible for one's own health at an INDIVIDUAL level is so dear to my heart, that I paid the annual fee to support such a worthy endeavor.
I hope that it can be seen that the Ithaca Health Alliance is not a for-profit, driven by money-considerations organization. It is an idealistic endeavor to allow like-minded individuals to collaborate in having a direct say in how their health care will be structured. I certainly hope that this motivation will be quite transparent to whatever entity looks into their affairs.
Sincerely,
Janice G. Forsberg, St. Paul, MN
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There are several reasons why I joined the Ithaca Health Alliance. First, I am 57 years old and with no health coverage. My biggest concern is falling and breaking a bone. I would not be able to afford to go to the hospital and have a broken bone set.
But, even overriding the above, is the question of why are the nasty "powers that be" so concerned about someone like me, and there are millions like me, trying to survive. Why are these "powers that be," with their expensive legal advisors, so concerned about a small humanitarian organization helping small people protect themselves in such a small way? What is their real fear? Could it be that they fear, if a little bit of humanity seeps into the healthcare structure, this will result in the humane concept of people over profits being realized? Does this turn their dream of draining every penny from the poor into a nightmare of people dying with a penny left to their name?
In summary, one reason for joining is simply to have a tiny bit of piece of mind, should I incur a need for one of the limited number of services for which I would receive a small amount of financial help. The other main reason is to fight for democracy in healthcare. Now that is a novel idea I imagine that terrifies the health uncare bureaucracies.
If a terrorist is one who inflicts pain and or death on masses of people, I think the HMOs are indeed terrorists. And, if it is true that those who harbor terrorists are terrorists, then I hope the courts will not harbor the heathcare terrorists, the HMOs. I hope the courts will allow humanity to exist in heathcare. That is what Ithaca Health Alliance is all about. If Ithaca ever reaches the point where it would have billions upon billions of profits, as the HMO industry does, then the courts would certainly have a right to take action. But, for now and a long time to come, I think it is more important and more ethical for the courts to stop the HMO terrorism.
Peace, hope, justice for ALL
Joan Malerich, St. Paul, MN
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Dear People at NYSID:

As a member of the Ithaca Health Alliance, a local grassroots community support organization, I want to let you know what it is and why I am participating.
The way health insurance is currently set up in the US is sick. Over 43 million people have no coverage at all. Most of those uncovered are working people, who are falling through what used to be called "the cracks", but it is more like a chasm.
The Ithaca Health Alliance is a nonprofit (already you must understand this is completely different from insurance companies) organization that exists to provide some support to local people who have inadequate health insurance coverage.
I am a licensed acupuncturist, so I joined as a provider, and I offer discounts to participating Health Alliance members.
The Health Alliance provides financial support for a small number of specific health care events: Emergency Room visits, ambulance rides to the hospital-- these are chosen by a community board.

Until the US decides to implement a universal single payer health care plan, there will be emergency situations for the many people who are uninsured. In our community, we don't provide the uninsured with insurance, but we are banding together to offer one another some limited support that we are able to through the Ithaca Health Alliance.
I hope you will understand this, leave our nonprofit group alone, and focus on your task-- overseeing the health insurers.
I look forward to the day when the people of the US have universal health care, and we can disband the Ithaca Health Alliance, because everyone has access to the health care they need.
Sincerely,
Will Fudeman
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I became interested in the Ithaca Health Alliance when I read about it in the Syracuse Newspaper. It sounded very interesting to me that's why I proceeded to apply for it. I never felt as though they were doing anything "wrong" and I never felt as though they were illegitimate. As a matter of fact, I thought it was very commendable that they wanted to do this and to help people. There was a woman in the article that it seemed to be helping her in her situation. It helps people out that have no coverage at all. It stated everything in the article that they were not for profit organization. Personally, I believe it is a good way to help other people out. Isn't this is what America is all about? I don't believe they are doing anything wrong and I would stand by them. I will continue to support them.
Debbie Walter, Liverpool, NY
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To the NYS Insurance Department:

I am writing in support of the Ithaca Health Alliance, which is a grass-roots group doing important work to solve one of the most important social problems facing this country. Tens of millions of Americans are vulnerable to early disability, misery, and financial ruin due to their lack of access to good health care. The Ithaca Health Alliance is precisely the kind of imaginative local solution we need to encourage to help solve these problems. With no governmental support of any kind, this group is working to give people access to the care they need. It is not an insurer -- it is a not-for-profit organization that uses the principles of the cooperative to extend health coverage to those who otherwise could not afford it. As a 25-year resident of Tompkins County, I am proud to support them.

Brad Edmondson, Ithaca, NY
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Dear NY Insurance Department,

I am writing in support of the continuation of the Ithaca Health Alliance as a non-profit community service organization. I am a health care provider; I provide well women health care and maternity care as an independent midwife. I see first hand the costs of health care, as a percentage of the average wage. Fully 30% of the people I care for are paying for health care out of pocket. Of those with insurance, there are still large out of pocket expenses for copays, medicines, and fees above the insurance companies' low set "usual and customary."
In Ithaca, we have a community that cares about those people who are hit with high cost medical expenses. We have a means to contribute to the needs of our neighbors--through voluntary charitable contributions to the Ithaca Health Alliance. I have contributed for three years, as well as made intangible contributions through reducing my fee for other Health Alliance contributors. I do this as a contribution to my community, as I have the means. Further, as I have sufficient personal resources, including private health insurance, I do not draw from the Alliance for my personal health expenses.
It has been the goal of the Ithaca Health Alliance to lessen the burden of health care expenses for people in our community. It has never been the intention of the Ithaca Health Alliance of being a health insurance company. The Ithaca Health Alliance does not function as a health insurance program. On the provider side of the equation, it does not contract with or credential providers, influence provider fees, pay the provider directly, require procedure and diagnosis coding, authorize health care procedures, or establish standards for the provision of health care. For health care consumers, it does not represent itself as an insurance company, or a replacement for medical insurance. Most importantly, the Ithaca Health Alliance does not cover medical expenses other limited payouts for a very narrow, yet not uncommon, set of reasons people incur health care costs. For example, the Alliance does not pay out for maternity care, basic health care covered by most insurance companies. The reasons for these limitations are to enable the Alliance to serve the widest number of needy people in our community. Were the Alliance to insure its member-contributors, it would quickly become depleted.
The Ithaca Health Alliance should rightly be seen as a model for a charitable community self-help program, by assisting the needy in the community with burdensome health care costs, with community education about wellness, and through advocacy for a just and equitable health care system - something that the health insurance companies have failed to do.
Sincerely,
Kate T. Finn, MS, LM, Licensed Midwife, Ithaca, NY
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Dear New York State Insurance Department,

I've been a member of the Ithaca Health Alliance for several years now, and I've never put in a claim. In fact, I have good private health insurance. Nevertheless, I just renewed my membership for $100 for the year.
I did this because I see health care for everyone as a basic human right, and I am ashamed say that I live in the only developed country in the world that does not have universal health care. I see the Ithaca Health Alliance as a

way of helping my local community to provide some level of health care for those in need.
I want to thank you for your valuable work in this important area.
Best regards,
Valorie Rockney, Ithaca, NY
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Dear board of directors of the Ithaca Health Alliance,

I am writing to let you know why I, all the way over here in Vermont, have joined your community!! That's the word that comes to mind, community. In a day and age when institutions and corporations abound and bottom lines are top priority it feels like a breath of much needed fresh air to be part of a group that cares about people and how they feel, that responds to their needs , not to make a profit , but to make a difference in their lives.
I would hate to see The Ithaca health Alliance shut down because organizations which are run so drastically differently can't understand motivation coming from the heart and not the pocketbook! Just by being there you send a message of hope and caring, a reaching out that is much needed in today's world of fear and isolation.
Thank you for the hours of hard work and dedicated service to the larger community of people, people hurting, people alone and sick, people scared and helpless, people whole and well, people alive and hopeful, people with bodies and hearts and minds that need a place to be treated with care and respect.

Helen Hawes, Medical Information Technology, Inc., Westwood, MA.
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To Whomever It May Concern,
I have been a member of the Ithaca Health Alliance for two years. I feel that it is an important part of the Ithaca community as well as being an excellent example for other communities. It is painfully obvious that our government is doing very little to make healthcare affordable. It makes sense to take the responsibility into our own hands as individuals and as a group of folks who don't want to spend their lives working for healthcare. Although the Alliance is certainly not the only solution, it is an inspiring and creative step in the right direction. It has been very helpful to me in finding qualified practitioners, receiving discounts for dental work, massage, and acupuncture. I sincerely hope that the Ithaca Health Alliance continues to grow and operate while keeping the same grassroots objectives. I hope that many communities will initiate similar organizations, and that we can support each other in being the healthiest people we can be.
Thank you Ithaca Health Alliance, and all of you who work so hard!
Emma Lee, Ithaca, NY
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Dear lawmakers in Albany,

I am writing to express my support for the Ithaca Health Alliance, a charitable organization. I joined the health Alliance because I believe in its mission of helping people deal with unexpected and exorbitant medical costs. As far as I understand the IHA is not an insurance company--it's just about people helping each other to meet rising costs. I wanted to support this grassroots movement to empower people in the realm of health care. I have comprehensive health care coverage as an NYC public school teacher, and I don't even live in Ithaca any more. But I think it's a great organization, and that's why I joined.
Rosalie Metro, New York, NY
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My reasons for joining Ithaca Health Alliance are I could not afford to continue coverage with BLUE Cross Blue Shield. I could not find any other alternative plan. They seem to have a monopoly and every city has a separate BC/BS affiliate and you can not get a lower premium through another BC/BS offfice unless you live in that city. Isn't it odd that NYS Insurance Department perpetuates this monopoly. We can't all be New York State employees with free health care. Fewer and fewer of the residents of this state are gainfully employed.
I also joined Ithaca Health Alliance because it is more responsive to my phone calls when compared to the large industrial health care for profit corporations that exist because there are few alternate providers.
Ed Boltz
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I am writing in support of the Ithaca Health Alliance. I am a resident of Ithaca, NY and live for several months a year in Brazil. Although Medicare cannot Alliance my health care while I reside out of the US, the IHA can help me with paying some health care needs should they arise while I am in a different country. This is an important benefit for me.
When I first moved to Ithaca in January 1997 when the IHA was beginning I heard of it and joined immediately. I have a retirement income and was not yet of age for medicare at that time and could not afford health insurance so it was a great relief to have the Health Alliance in my life. I was one of the first people to join and am grateful to be part of a grass roots system to assist people of small income to receive some aid for their health care needs. I am grateful to be a member of this fine organization and pray that it will always continue.
Yours in Integrity,
Rev. Sandra Mennella
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Dear NYS Insurance Deptartment,

The Ithaca Health Alliance is an incredibly important institution not only to hundreds of Ithaca area residents, but to those of us in distant parts of the country struggling to create a world that embodies the infinite possibilities of our imaginations. Here in Washington, DC, for instance, we have few community-run and accountable progressive institutions to serve our many needs. The Ithaca Health Alliance provides several functions for us in Washington struggling to create better communities and a brighter future. First of all, we can enroll as members and contribute to the growth and health of the Alliance, which even allows us to vote in Alliance elections, and thereby to directly participate in a project that we feel is integral to building stronger relationships and healthier communities. Through our participation we also glean crucial experience in how grassroots community institutions operate, experience important to begin building similar institutions locally. The Ithaca Health Alliance is a shining example to us of the ways organized citizens can create locally-based and self-reliant service agencies that respond to the parochial needs of residents and not corporate accountants, and in so doing, in concert with national and international allies, drastically improve the caliber of our global progressive movement by directly providing for community needs.
The Ithaca Health Alliance is entirely unique in its wholesome reflection of our shared progressive values. It is not all simply a health promotion entity, it is a bellwether and inspiration for hundreds of thousands of progressive community activists. Please do not limit the ability of the Alliance to create change, and to inspire and motivate us to action. Thank you for your time.
Andrew Willis, Service Employees International Unio, Washington, DC
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Dear Ithaca Health Alliance:

I have health insurance through my employer. I joined because I think the U.S health care system has serious problems meeting the health care needs of all the American people. Innovation and new ideas are badly needed. I think the non-profit, grassroots, local focus of the Ithaca Health Alliance may be some part of the answer to what we need in our country to have health care accessible to all. A way for me to support this effort and innovation locally is to contribute to the Health Alliance. Perhaps in doing so I am assisting community members who do not have the health insurance I currently I have. But doing so is not just providing charity, it is also contributing to an idea that has the potential to have some answers for how we make health care available to all in our community.
Sincerely,
Judy Jensvold, Ithaca, NY
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Dear New York State Insurance Department:

I am writing in support of the Ithaca Health Alliance, to which I donated $25 per month for a year, totalling $300. I am a retired highschool teacher, with good health care coverage as part of my retirement, and therefore did not donate the money for a membership. The reason I decided to donate was because of the many people I know in Ithaca, including people working full-time, who have no health insurance coverage or who have such high deductibles that they cannot afford to get sick.
My wife worked in the health care field as a hospital nurse, hospice nurse, and discharge planner, and was constantly frustrated by the difficulties of providing needed health care to people without the means to pay for it or the insurance to cover it.
I think that the Ithaca Health Alliance is one local effort to respond to the crisis of our country, that over 45 million people have no healthcare coverage. We are the only industrialized country in the world with such an atrocious situation.
I hope that you will do everything in your power to support this local effort. That's what you are there for.
Sincerely,
Thomas W. Halton
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To Whom it May Concern,

I am writing to support the continued existence and expansion of the Ithaca Health Fund as a community-based, grassroots model of people responsibly and proactively funding their own wellness and health care through a non-profit, low-overhead system readily accessible to all applicants.
I joined the Ithaca health fund because, as a low-income and self-employed person, commercial health insurance is simply far too expensive and too focused on "sickness care" and limited allopathic perspectives on health to suit my health care needs.
I also joined because I fully support citizens' rights to care for themselves and their community in ways they choose, without interference or burdensome regulation from governmental entities. Ithaca health provides members with some basic resources for health care funding without the profit-driven corporate structure and without the high administrative overhead of commercial health insurance providers.
I do not consider Ithaca health to be a health insurance company in any way. I consider it to be a cooperative community non-profit organization that enables members to pool their resources to better meet certain aspects of their health care needs - aspects that are not being met in any reasonable, affordable or accessible way by commercial health insurance providers. As such it is an invaluable resource and should clearly be enabled to continue doing the good work it is already doing.
Sincerely,
John Schinnerer, Kea'au, HI
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To whom it may concern:

I am completely satisfied with how the Ithaca Health Alliance has handled my health insurance claims.
On April 6, 2003, I suffered a broken ankle when I slipped on the ice. My treatment for the broken ankle consisted ot three stages:
First, my primary care physician, Dr. David White of Internal Medicine Associates referred me to Auburn Memorial Hospital for an x-ray to determine whether I had a broken or sprained ankle.
Second, after it was determined my ankle was broken, I was referred to Dr. Thomas Sullivan of Auburn Orthopaedic Specialists for a plaster cast for the broken ankle. During the next six weeks, I saw Dr. Sullivan for weekly office visits for x-rays and follow-up care.
Third, after removing my cast, I was referred to Malys Physical Therapy for follow-up care. During the seven weeks of rehabilitative care, I visited the physical therapist one to two times a week.
During my dealings with my health care providers, I never received a complaint about getting payment for any of my health care costs.
In fact, I submitted the largest claim to the Ithaca Health Alliance’s Fund since it started in 1998. The claim was for $2,456.00.
Even though the Ithaca Health Alliance didn't offer physical therapy coverage when I broke my ankle in April 2003, my circumstances convinced them to offer physical therapy coverage.
The Ithaca Health Alliance is the only affordable health coverage that is within my price range. The cost for health insurance in the private sector can range from $2500 to $5000 per year depending on the deductibles and coverage in the health insurance policy.
At this time, the Ithaca Health Alliance has done a stellar job of serving my health insurance needs.
Sincerely Yours,
Mark Miller, Auburn, NY
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Please convey to the New York State agencies involved that I consider my membership in the Ithaca Health Fund to be a way to support people who do not have health insurance. I do have insurance, through my employer, which I use for medical visits and prescriptions. My conventional insurance usually doesn't cover my holistic health practitioners-- chiropractic, psychological therapy, massage therapy-- on the grounds that these services are not "medically necessary". But it is these therapies that keep me healthy and very active at age 61, so I pay for them out of pocket. I do receive a 10% IHF discount from one therapist who is a member, but my primary motivation to seek out service providers who are part of IHF is that I know that they offer care on a sliding scale to people in the community who are not insured.
I am aware that I could be "collecting" other reimbursements from IHF, but I choose not to so that the Fund can grow. For example, my dentist is a member, but I pay him the full rate precisely because he gives low-cost or free care to those who need it. (He has received community service awards including the Racker Centers' recognition for his work with disabled children.) He knows that I choose to pay the full rate, and I hope my attitude encourages him to broaden his community contribution.
To put our Fund in the same category as the insurance companies is folly! Thanks you for advocating for it.
Yours sincerely,
Nancy Gabriel, Ithaca NY
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To Whom it May Concern,

I understand that the N.Y.S. Insurance Dept. is attempting to determine whether the Ithaca Health Alliance is an "insurance company".
Members of the Ithaca Health Alliance, besides attempting to help themselves, are trying to do something useful for one another and for the Fund itself. This is almost never true for people who buy "insurance" policies. I hope that testimonials such as my own as well as the Insurance Department's review of the documented history of the Health Fund will show what is so evident to its members, that the Health Fund is a new kind of entity, not readily classifiable, and fills a critical humanitarian gap.
That members of the Fund are "altruistic" should not be surprising; we all look around and see that while politicians lock horns on every front, many people are left exposed to the grave economic consequences of not being conjoined in any kind of relationship with others to lessen the burden of health costs.
If I can offer any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely
David Galezo, Ithaca, NY
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To the New York State Insurance Department,

We absolutely have to have an organization like the Ithaca Health Alliance.
My wife and I are both highly educated, productive contract workers. As such, the jobs we get do not offer health care benefits, unless we pay huge fees. We took huge pay cuts as a result of the recession, and now we work hard doing a variety of jobs to make ends meet. My wife has done excellent contract work for a university for some ten years, and yet they offer her no benefits whatsoever. That is really another discussion, but it speaks to how terrible it is trying to get healthcare in NY state.
The only reasonably priced option we have for healthcare is if we can get catastrophic coverage (with an extremely high deductible) via a Medical Savings Account. We had to look long and hard just to find out about that,

but the bar is quite high to qualify for this, as you have to run your own business that makes a large amount of money every year, and other qualifications, so that's also a dead end.
In my quest to find as much productive work as possible, I was recently certified as a Personal Trainer. One of the benefits of being a member of a certification body is that you can get group health insurance, and after I passed my exam, I eagerly requested information on the plan. I was rudely shocked to find out that New York State does not allow out-of-state insurers to provide this. I could not believe how cruel this was.
After painful experience trying to get affordable healthcare in NY state, I don't see how I can come to any conclusion but the following: NY State is beholden to the NY Insurance lobby, which wants to hoard as much insurance business as it can in order to keep filling their coffers and keeping the rates high, which explains not only the prohibitive rates and regulations, but also the shutting out of reasonable options offered by other states.
Ithaca Health Alliance is not an insurance company. Their benefits offered are quite limited compared to traditional insurance, but they do a world of good for the community, as well as helping out a little bit with some medical expenses. They care about making their community better rather than simply making huge amounts of money for health insurance companies. We consumers are having a terrible time with healthcare, and we desperately need an organization like the IHA. If this organization is eliminated or crippled by insurance regulators, it will be crystal clear that the insurance companies' interests come before the public's, and we will have to question why we are living in a state like New York.
Sincerely, David Chu, Ithaca, NY
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Hello. I just read about the Ithaca Health Alliance in Orion magazine. It is really exciting. I just wanted to commend you for the imagnation and initiative for starting this community health project. It is exactly the spirit and type of action our communities need. Thanks for your time and vision. Blessings.
Sincerely,
Andrew Thistlethwaite, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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To whom it may concern:

I joined the Ithaca Health Alliance for a variety of reasons, one being that I wanted to be a part of a community organization which values helping each other when it comes to affording the cost of basic medical care. I have not sought any monetary assistance from the fund, nor do I care if I ever do. I'll continue to support the Health Alliance because I believe in the power of a grassroots movement to make a positive difference, and I know my annual donation/dues of $100 has been put to good use. I support this Alliance as it endeavors to set up a free health clinic in the Ithaca area and to give members AND non-members options outside the rigid box of profit-based, fear-based health insurance. I take issue with anyone who would want to thwart the intentions of a group of citizens who have come together to make our health as a community a cooperative concern.
Sincerely,
Anna R. Nellenback
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To Whom It May Concern: The Ithaca Health wAlliance is a wonderful charitable, nonprofit organization that is helping poor people to obtain lower cost healthcare benefits. I enrolled my adult son because he could not afford health insurance and also because I want to contribute to this great help to the community.
Virginia Pendergast, Little Falls, NY
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I joined the Ithaca Health Alliance for two primary reasons:
--to be able to improve the quality of my own health care
--to support better health care services in my community
I am on Social Security Disability and I only work part-time because of chronic medical conditions. I have no health insurance other than Medicare, which does not pay for most of the "maintenance" health care services I need in order to remain even minimally functional. Thus the health-based rather than disease-based orientation of the Ithaca Health Alliance is very important to me. I personally benefit from the Ithaca Health Alliance because of:
--information about area health care practitioners on the web site and at Health Fairs
--discounts available from practitioners, especially those involved with maintaining health rather than with treating disease (eg, dental cleanings, massage therapy, acupuncture, etc)
--discounts to Ithaca Health Alliance members from other (non-health care) businesses
--ability to use local currency (Ithaca HOURS) as partial payment for services
In the future, I expect to benefit from Ithaca Health Alliance projects such as their work on health clinics and on a much-needed dental clinic.
Sincerely,
Margaret A. McCasland, Ithaca, NY
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To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to you today in regard to the Ithaca Health Alliance. It has come to my attention that the NYS Insurance Department is holding a hearing to determine if the Ithaca Health llliance should be categorized as an insurance provider as per the mainstream definition.
I am a member of the Ithaca Health Alliance, as is my domestic partner. My reasons for becoming a member are manifold. First, our decision to sign up for the Ithaca Fund as opposed to a traditional insurance provider is the simple

reason that Ithaca Health Alliance is not an insurance company; they are a not-for-profit entity concerned with the health and well-being of the Ithaca community. I also was propelled to become a member because the Fund recognized my domestic partnership and honored it by quoting us a cost as a family. The Fund also helps to cover services insurance companies do not, such as massage therapy and educational programs. Additionally, I have been looking for employment since graduating with my Masters degree. I carry considerable debt and was unable to afford health coverage through traditional means. The Ithaca Health Alliance has been able to provide me with some coverage at a cost more commensurate with my present financial situation.
In addition to these personal reasons, my partner has extended membership to the Ithaca Health Alliance to his employees. He is a small business owner - the life-blood of the United States and New York economies. As a conscientious man he wants to provide his employees with health benefits. The structure of the Ithaca Health Alliance allows him to do this at a cost that will allow him to maintain his business and continue employing New Yorkers.
The present structure of the Ithaca Health Alliance must be maintained because it provides some coverage to those who would otherwise be completely without coverage for both individuals who become members or employees who join through their work. Further, its present structure has been established in such a way as to be forward-thinking in its plans to provide more benefits to members who are neighbors, friends, colleagues, parents and children while continuing in a non-profit manner of conducting business. The Ithaca Health Alliance is an asset to this community, established with altruistic purposes in mind, and in remaining true to those purposes the Fund has provided a great service to the people of our community.
Thank you for your time. I encourage you to support the Ithaca Health Alliance as it is.
Melissa Burns
Ithaca, NY
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I am writing to show support for the Ithaca Health Alliance. As an uninsured person who makes around only $10,000 ayear, any thing helps. This is a charitable fund helping people like myself, who cannot afford health insurance.
Thank You
Jessica Michaels
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I joined the Health Alliance for the following reasons:
1) It was affordable.
2) It was community based, but open membership
3) It was not driven by a market based vision or responsible for generating a profit.
I believe it is of immeasurable value for these components to be part of the vision for the future.
Sincerely,
Russ Purvis
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I joined the Ithaca Health Fund in 1997, while I was covered by health insurance through my employer. Though I did not need the benefits offered by the Fund at the time, I decided to invest $100 to help create an alternative to our increasingly dysfunctional for-profit health care system.
A couple years later I left my job and became self-employed. I was able to extend my coverage for 18 months through the COBRA program (by paying $228 per month). After that, I tried to buy health insurance, but could not afford the premiums. I was glad that by then the Ithaca Health Fund covered several common injuries. I have benefitted from provider discounts, and payments for dental exams.
Filing claims with health insurance companies has often been a hassle. I used to spend several hours a year with insurance paperwork. The Ithaca Health Fund has always processed my claims quickly and easily.
The Ithaca Health Alliance offers me hope for a sane health care system in this country. I get part of my $100 per year fee back in discounts and payments, but my membership is worth much more. I look forward to the day when we can open an affordable health clinic in our community.
Canada's national health care system evolved from a local effort not so different from ours. We cannot wait for the U.S. government (or NY state) to solve the health care crisis. Ithaca can lead the way to take our health into our own hands.
Sincerely,
David H. Post, Ithaca, NY
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Your health care coop sounds like a great model and an important resource for the uninsured in Ithaca and beyond! The fact that NY state is considering shutting you down should be a badge of honor for you. I'll pass this onto Michael Moore--food for thought for his next film.
Keep up the important work you are doing, so good to know there are projects like yours out there taking seed.
Tia Lessin, Senior Producer, Farenheit 9/11
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I very much appreciate the work of the Ithaca Health Alliance, of which I have been a co-owner for the last several years. This is exactly the kind of community-support network we need to build in these times when many cannot afford basic health-care services, and it should serve as a model for further cooperative ventures of this sort. New York State should be proud that such a citizen-initiated project is operating within its borders.
Thank you for considering my input,
Chris Roth, Dexter, OR
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Please, please, please do not mess with the Ithaca Health Alliance. On behalf of those of us who earn too little money to afford traditional health insurance plans, please fight to keep the Ithaca Health Alliance strong. It is often our only resource for compensation for medical emergencies.
Kristin Powell, Minneapolis, MN
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Greetings to the helpful and innovative people at Ithaca Health Alliance:
I want you, and everyone else who is interested, to know that I very much appreciate the service you are providing me. I am 54 years old, working as a self-employed care-taker, and I have to provide my own health insurance. The only way I can afford to do that is to carry a high deductible major medical plan and then cover some of the potential expenses for emergencies through the Ithaca Health Alliance. I am impressed with how much you are able to provide for such a small membership fee. Your time and your commitment are a real gift to all of us. Thank you.
Kay L. Bird , Doraville, GA
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I wish to express my opinion that [NYSID is] harassing a sound entity of public service: The Ithaca Health Alliance. This is an organization that is here to serve its members, not to make a large profit or take advantage of the medically underserved. Please cease and desist your harassment. The Ithaca Health Alliance is the way of the future. For some, it is all they have now. This organization is here to serve the people- that is more than I can say for my experience of HMOs.
Why not embrace the organization and learn from its success and make it a template for those that will follow? The level of integrity and honesty is exceptional. The success of serving it's members is noteworthy. And it does so with great effort to be as legal and fair as possible.
Attacking this small group is not the answer to the problems of managed health care. The only other coverage I feel I MUST afford is "catastrophic", and I have it only because some law somewhere won't allow the company to discontinue its program in NYS, as it is the last company who offers it to people like myself.
I have had several group health plans associated with my profession, all of which folded or quadrupled in price within a short span of time, as a result of living in NYS. And you have the audacity to pick on this small service group? Whose records are the most revealed of any I've seen?
Your skills might be more effective in other areas, like trying to find ways to serve those of us who fall through the cracks of this system. I wonder: Do you have a conscience? Do you know anyone who is not as wealthy as you? Or do you live in a bubble? WHO ARE YOU SERVING?
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Cindy Getchonis, Ithaca, NY
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When my family and I visited friends in New Orleans last year, we strolled through the fascinating and beautiful cemetaries that city is famous for. Several enormous group tombs were constructed by mutual aid societies: clubs, usually based on a trade or an ethnicity, flourished within immigrant communities.
Each member paid a small amount each week and in case of an illness or death in the members's families the mutual aid society would provide monetary support. They constructed the beautiful tombs so that families would not be over-burdened during that difficult time of need. After that visit, I have read about mutual aid societies all over the country which helped those in need become full members of society.
That is how I see the Ithaca Health Alliance. I am willing to share some of my money each year in order to help others in my community when they most need help.
My husband is dealing with an irreversible and untreatable degenerative neurological condition, Olivopontocerebellar Atrophy. He is unable to work, cannot drive, has lost the ability to walk without aid, has severely diminished small motor skills and cannot speak clearly. In a short period of time he went from being a vital, hard-working provider to being disabled. We have been lucky enough to receive disability payments for him and our youngest child which has kept us from financial stress.
The irony is that disability payments put us above the income for Medicaid eligibility. My husband is not eligible for Medicare until he has received disability for two years. I, of course, am not eligible for any program either and my part-time employment does not come with insurance coverage. If the federal government cannot help people with severe disabilites or their families, who can we turn to?
Happily, we live in Ithaca, a friendly and supportive community where a mutual aid society, the Ithaca Health Fund, is available.
Please protect the small people who are doing what they can to remain healthy and are helping their neighbors and friends be healthy, productive participants as well.
Linda Holzbaur, Ithaca NY
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I LOVE the Ithaca Health Alliance. Keep up the great work.
Donald Clarke, Ithaca, NY
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I own my own small business. I have just started out and have found that having comprehensive health insurance is not at this time feasible for myself or anyone else whom I might employ in the near future. I am very excited to be part of the Ithaca Health Alliance which is the most straightforward and honest health insurance in the nation! For the welfare of our country may we all have a chance to receive and promote good health in all aspects of our lives.
John Bacon, Seattle, WA
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