For Immediate Release
December 14, 2021
MSSNY Thanks Richard Gottfried for his Many Years of Service
and Wishes him Well in Retirement
Statement Attributable to:
Joseph R. Sellers, MD, FAAP, FACP
President, Medical Society of the State of New York
“Richard Gottfried’s retirement from the Assembly after 52 years of service marks the end of an era. As the author of countless laws to expand insurance coverage for patients and to address various public health threats, Assemblymember Gottfried has long been a champion for protecting patients’ ability to receive timely and quality health care. Chair Gottfried could be counted on to thoughtfully discuss and consider questions raised by physicians and others regarding how best to achieve our shared goals, even on occasion when we had to agree to disagree on the merits of a particular proposal.
“Chair Gottfried has been a consistent champion in efforts to expand affordable health insurance coverage availability and to protect the patient-physician treatment relationship from corporate interference from health insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). This was demonstrated through his advancement of legislation to provide state regulation of PBMs, to reduce excessive health insurer-imposed prior authorization burdens, to eliminate onerous contract provisions that adversely impact patient access to care, and to permit collective bargaining rights to community-based health care providers.
“The State Capitol will certainly be a different place without Assemblyman Gottfried‘s regular presence. We thank him for his decades of service to the public and wish him a happy retirement.”
# # #
Founded in 1807, the Medical Society of the State of New York is the state’s principal non-profit professional organization for physicians, residents and medical students of all specialties. Its mission is to represent the interests of patients and physicians to assure quality healthcare services for all.
Media Contact:
Roseann Raia | Communications / Marketing
Medical Society of the State of New York
865 Merrick Avenue
Westbury, NY 11590
516.488.6100 x302 | [email protected]
Share
The budget bill which just passed in the House of Representatives and headed to President Donald Trump's desk will have devastating effects for maintaining an affordable and sustainable health care system in New York. […]
-
The bill rammed through the US Senate today will cruelly force countless New Yorkers to lose eligibility for health insurance coverage and threaten the viability of countless community-based medical practices that provide care to millions of New York patients each year. […]
-
The US Supreme Court’s decision is a blow to countless patients across the country who may now be unable to access necessary medical care in their states, as well as their physicians who may face criminal prosecution for taking care of their patients. […]
-
It was bad enough that the House-passed reconciliation proposal imposes draconian cuts to New York’s Medicaid program and threatens to cause millions to lose health insurance coverage and access to care […]
