The Ithaca Health Fund problems that occurred almost 3 years ago may not be the best example of a large body walloping a small one. Whereas the NYS insurance department (NYSID) did come down hard on the program, to be fair, lowering the boom was the only choice NYSID had, given NYS regulations. The Ithaca Health Fund made some well-meaning but naive decisions, which have now been redressed.
The amount of trouble the NYSID fight cost the members and volunteers of the Fund is regrettable, but getting through the struggle helped to map the organization's direction, now fully articulated in the body of the Ithaca Health Alliance (IHA). The corrective plan of action, as it's called in health care, also helped to attract some local talent that has since gone on to open and run the Free Clinic, develop community outreach in the form of a newsletter and other educational products, create new cooperation between the schools and conventional and complementary health providers, employ three staff, and manage the whole enterprise with a relatively small pool of volunteers. In short, the services the IHA now offers are better than ever and, I am happy to say, are sustainable. Not bad for a little local group. Bethany Margaret McCasland wrote: > I also agree with Karl that aspects of local self-reliance that have > been sufficiently "successful" have been severely dealt with by "the > powers that be." Two examples I know of off the top of my head are a > local/regional currency in Argentina (the "truc"), and the original > form of the Ithaca Health Fund (which the NYS insurance regulators > came down on hard). > > I look forward to hearing from more people. Margaret > _______________________________________________ > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
