Why Single Payer is Important for Healthcare Workers

By Tonia Bazel, RN

My name is Tonia Bazel, RN, I work at Albany Medical Center’s Infectious Disease Unit and I introduced the single-payer resolution at the 2022 convention on behalf of the NYSNA single-payer committee.

I have cared for a multitude of patients who don’t go to the doctor or clinic when they are ill because they are under-insured or not insured at all, and I have been there myself. I’ve had to choose between feeding and keeping a safe roof over my family’s head and paying for co-pays and deductibles for doctor visits and my diabetic medication. I went without medical care for five years because of cost concerns. By the end of that time period my blood sugar was dangerously high and my vision had been compromised.

I had to file bankruptcy in order not to lose my home because of mounting medical bills, while on short-term disability for having had two different surgical interventions on my back, consequences of my choice to be a nurse. Bankruptcy had a long-term impact on my credit.

Low-income individuals and families are unable to get preventative care under our current system. I’ve had patients leave the hospital stating they can’t afford their stay because insurance won’t cover it. I have family members who have lost limbs or have died much too soon because they couldn’t afford medical care or because they were among those who fall through the fissures in our current healthcare system.

The least our country and the state of New York should offer working people is affordable healthcare for their contribution our prosperity. A universal, single-payer system is the single biggest step we can take in that direction.