Written by Adam Bermudez
(l-r)( Rebecca Mahn; Hannah Moreira; Hannah Keppler; Vijay Kotecha;
Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj; Donald Apakama; Rebecca Touger; Travis
Howlette) Photo c/o facebook.com
On Tuesday January 28th, 14 medical students made the trip from Morris Park’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University to the Capital in Albany, joining over 70 medical students from across the state to advocate for increased access to quality healthcare for state residents. They met with local East Bronx representative Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, as well as other legislators.
“We were honored that Assemblyman Gjonaj took the time to discuss the New York Health Bill with us,” said Hannah Moriera, a second year student from Brooklyn and health policy activist,. “It was clear that the health of his constituents was high on his priority list.”
Moriera spoke about why she and her peers have become involved with lobbying elected officials on health policy.
“As medical students we have become familiar with the hardships that patients face with the onset of illness,” Moreira said. “We have witnessed how delayed care puts a strain on our healthcare system and harms individuals, families and communities. We see far too many health conditions that could have been avoided with standard care such as serious infections leading to amputations due to uncontrolled diabetes and preventable asthma attacks that require hospitalization and intubation.”
With an estimate that over 1.6 million New Yorkers will remain uninsured after the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the Einstein students stated their focus was on advocating for the passage of the New York Health Bill, a universal, single-payer health care plan that will curb the ability of private insurers to influence the physician-patient relationship and choices of care.
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