The following was sent to 39 parties (see the “CC” list at bottom). We can only keep our fingers crossed that speaking up ultimately does some good.
Ronald A. Williams
Chairman and Chief Executive, Aetna Inc.
Hartford, CT 06156
July 23, 2010
Dear Mr. Williams,
We the undersigned are faculty members and administrators at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. The Pratt administration has chosen to subscribe to Aetna for health coverage, a situation over which we have minimal control.
We were shocked and dismayed to receive notification from our Human Resources office on June 16, 2010 that Aetna and Continuum failed to renew their contract over the issue of reimbursement rates, directly affecting most of us who have, over the years, established relationships with physicians at the various major hospitals in our area that are now “out of network”: Beth Israel, Long Island College Hospital, Saint Luke’s, and New York Ear and Eye Infirmary. As medical consumers, we have been told time and time again that the most effective medical care can be achieved by establishing relationships with our doctors so that valuable time and money is not wasted bringing new doctors up to speed on our conditions, and so that our doctors gain, over time, a more accurate overview of our health. Unfortunately, this event seems to be a culmination of a long-term trend wherein doctor after doctor finds that it is no longer “worth it” to be part of Aetna’s network because the Aetna’s reimbursement rates are so low.
We find it callous and irresponsible that Aetna has chosen to destroy these relationships between doctor and patient due to its refusal to meet the reimbursement demands of the medical practitioners who are part of Continuum, disrupting the medical care of thousands in the New York area. Aetna’s own website states that its 2009 revenue was a shocking 39.679 billion dollars. Surely Aetna does not stand to suffer too much from reimbursing doctors at a reasonable level, as other insurance companies who deal with Continuum have managed to do. We find it surprising that Aetna, a company that claims in its mission statement to be dedicated to helping people achieve “health and financial security” would cause us to lose access to our doctors, or to simply pay more by going out of network. Do you, Mr. Williams, have to go “out of network” to see the doctors of your choice? We wonder whether you are affected personally by this event.
As it stands, in the eyes of many of your customers who have little direct say over their patronage of Aetna, your company appears callous, unreasonable, and unconcerned with the health care of its customers. We will be sure to express these views to the decision-makers at our institution and make them public to our Congressional representatives and to the media.
Sincerely,
The following faculty members and administrators at Pratt Institute, 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, 11222:
1. Suzanne Verderber, Coordinator of the petition and Associate Professor Humanities and Media Studies, V.P. UFCT 1460
2. Ric Brown, Associate Professor, Social Science and Cultural Studies, UFCT 1460 Grievance Team member
3. Gerson Sparer, professor, Math and Science, Grievance Team member
4. Holly Wilson, Assistant Professor, Library and UFCT 1460 Grievance Team member
5. Kye Carbone, Adjunct Professor, Foundation Art and UFCT 1460 President
6. Patrick Webb, Professor, Foundation Art
7. Aileen Wilson, Associate Professor, Art and Design Education
8. Iona Fromboluti, Associate Professor, Foundation Art
9. Douglas Wirls, Associate Professor, Foundation Art
10. Agnes Mocsy, Assistant Professor, Math and Science
11. Sarah Van Ouwerkerk, Professor, Media Arts
12. Joyce Polistena, Associate Professor, Art History
13. Cheryl Gross, Professor, Communications Design
14. Theodora Skipitares, Associate Professor, Art and Design Education
15. Joanne McIntyre, Assistant Professor, Library
16. Ira Livingston, Chair, Humanities and Media Studies
17. Jenny Lee, Adjunct Professor, Fine Arts
18. Karen Miletsky, Associate Director, Continuing and Professional Studies
19. Paul Schlotthauer, Associate Professor, Library
20. Harribir Singh Khalsa, Assistant to Chair, Graduate Fine Arts
21. Leslie Roberts, Associate professor, Foundation Art
22. Cecilia Muhlstein, Visiting Instructor, Humanities and Media Studies
23. Ellen Kozak, Adjunct Professor, Foundation Art
24. Ayse Yonder, Professor, Architecture
25. Rebecca Welz, Adjunct Professor, Foundation Art and Industrial Design
26. Reeva Potoff, Adjunct Professor, Foundation Art
27. Chris Arabadjis, Director, Multi-Media Services
28. Bill O’Brecht, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Humanities and Media Studies
29. Dan Bucsescu, Adjunct Professor, Architecture
30. Rosemary Palms, Professor, Humanities and Media Studies
31. Mary McBride, Chair, Design Management
32. Theo David, Professor, Architecture
33. Uzma Rizvi, Assistant Professor, Social Science and Cultural Studies
34. Kathryn Filla, Adjunct Professor, Industrial Design
35. David Goodman, Assistant Professor, Social Science and Cultural Studies
36. Amy Brook Snider, Chair, Art and Design Education
37. Philip Ayers, Assistant Professor, Foundation Art
38. Jeffrey Hogrefe, Adjunct Associate Professor, Humanities and Media Studies, Architecture
39. Charles Rubenstein, Professor, Information and Library Science
40. Kevin Gatta, Professor, Graduate Communications Design
41. Rick Barry, Professor, Digital Arts
42. Debbie Rabina, Assistant Professor, Information and Library Science
43. Yorke Flynne, Media Lab Manager, Foundation Art
44. Bill Sayler, professor, Foundation Art
45. David Walczyk, Assistant Professor, Information and Library Science
46. Nada Gordon, CEP Coordinator
47. Jon Beller, Professor, Humanities and Media Studies
48. Rose Fabricant Pettavina, Professor, Fashion Design
49. Marianna Ellenberg, Visiting Instructor, Digital Arts
50. Maria Sieira, Adjunct Instructor, Architecture
51. Cindie Kehlet, Assistant Professor, Math and Science
52. Ann Holder, Associate Professor, Social Science and Cultural Studies
53. Thomas La Padula, Adjunct Professor, Communications Design
54. William Menking, Professor, Architecture
55. Sameetah Agha, Associate professor, Social Science and Cultural Studies
56. Jean Hines, Coordinator, Library Services
57. James Costanzo
58. Lisa Bateman, Adjunct Associate professor, Fine Arts
59. Bill Fasolino, Chair. Foundation Arts
60. Rosie De Pasquale, Professor, Fashion Design
61. Donna Gorsline, Assistant to the Dean, Art and Design
62. Mary McBride, Chair, Design Management
63. Adele Rossetti Morosoni, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Math and Science
64. Sam Bryan, Adjunct Professor, History of Art and Design
65. Mara McGinnis, Executive Director of Communications, Institutional Advancement
66. Jenny Lynn McNutt, Adjunct Associate Professor, Foundation Art
67. Daniel Wright, Assistant Professor, Math and Science
68. Joseph A. Smith, Professor, Fine Art
69. J. Roger Guilfoyle, Adjunct Professor, Graduate Communications?Package Design
70. Peggy Cyphers, Adjunct Professor, Fine Arts
71. Berti Jones, Director, Enterprise Systems
72. Jeffrey Surovell, Visiting Assistant Professor, Social Science and Cultural Studies
73. Eleonora Del Federico, Associate Professor, Math and Science
74. Licio Isolani, Professor, Fine Arts
75. Sean Sullivan, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Foundation Art
76. Carole Rosenthal, Professor, Humanities and Media Studies
77. Martin Lennon, Visiting professor, Film, Video, and Photography
78. Mandy Morrison, Visiting Assistant Professor, Foundation Art
79. Donald S. Owings, Envision programmer, Enterprise Systems
80. Esther Palmer, Assistant to the Chair, History of Art and Design
81. Laena McCarthy, Assistant professor, Library
82. Joyce Finno, Admissions
83. Molly McNamara, SEVIS Coordinator
84. Katie Hale, Associate Director, Residential Life and Housing
85. Ashley Berger, Senior Alumni Outreach Representative
86. Gregory Singer, Academic Advisor, Art & Design
87. Carolyn MacLaury, Assistant to V.P. for Institutional Advancement
88. Pamela Gill, Assistant to the Dean, Architecture
89. Jessica Lee Hochman, Assistant Professor and LMS Coordinator
90. Thierry Gourjon, Visiting Professor, Film and Photography
91. Peggy West-Barton, Coordinator, America Reads/Counts Pratt
92. Kim Sloane, Assistant Chair, Foundation
93. John Monti, Professor, Fine Arts and Sculpture Coordinator
94. Timothy McMahon, Visiting Instructor and Jewelry Technician
95. Tom Dolle, Adjunct Professor, Graduate Communications/Package Design
96. Saul Bonilla, Financial Aid Counselor
97. Chris Jensen, Assistant Professor, Math and Science
98. Laurel Voss, Acting Assistant Chair, Industrial Design
99. Cynthia Wolff, Copy Cataloging/Processing Administrator
100. William Hochhausen, Professor, Foundation Art
101. Haresh Lalvani, professor, Architecture
102. Kumru Toktamis, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Social Science and Cultural Studies
103. John Shapiro, Chair, Center for Planning and the Environment
104. Christina Pattuelli, Assistant Professor, Information and Library Science
105. Eric Rosenblum, Visiting Instructor, Humanities and Media Studies
106. Jason Rodgers, Access Support Services Coordinator
107. Eliott Maltby, Adjunct Associate Professor, Graduate Art and Design
108. Alicia M. Luhrssen, Assistant Director of Admissions
109. Paul M. McDonough, Adjunct Associate Professor, Photography
110. Mike Farnham, Director of Academic Advising, Art and Design
111. Wendy Fleischer, Director, Sustainability Services, Pratt Center for Community Development
112. Irina Danilova, Visiting Assistant professor, Foundation Art
113. Robert O’Neill, Acting Director, Digital Arts Lab
114. Peggy Cyphers, Professor, Fine Arts
115. Cam Lorendo, Visiting Assistant Professor, Interior Design
116. Rich Leslie, Visiting Associate Professor, History of Art and Design
117. Bryanna Tucker, Associate Director, Career Services
118. Mitzi Bryan, Assistant Director, Administrative Support Services
119. Diana Gisolfi, Professor, History of Art and Design
120. Anthony Morin, Pratt student
121. Monica Shay, Associate Professor, Design Management
122. Gayle Kurtz, Assistant Chair, History of Art and Design
123. Natalie Moore, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Foundation Art
124. Aaron White, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Architecture
125. Deborah Johnson, Visiting Professor, Foundation Art
126. Chris Sanderson, Professor, Foundation Art
127. Ivan Zatz, Associate Professor, Social Science and Cultural Studies
128. Patricia Madeja, Adjunct Associate Professor, Fine Art
129. Ronald Shiffman, Professor, Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment
130. Chava Ben-Amos, Professor, Graduate Communications and Package Design
131. Jane Haimes, Adjunct Associate Professor, Foundation Art
132. Kia Carbone, Pratt Graduate, Graduate Student of Education, Long island University
133. William Jeffrey Tolbert, Adjunct Associate Professor, Industrial Design
134. Lisa Bank-Humann, Assistant to the Chair, Fine Arts
135. Donna Moran, Chair, Fine Arts
136. Jonathan Thayer, Associate professor, Industrial Design
137. Nick Battis, Director of Exhibitions
138. Gerald Siciliano, Associate Professor, Fine Arts
139. Cyrilla Mozenter, Adjunct Professor, Fine Arts
140. Meta Brunzema, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Architecture
141. Thad Ziolkoski, Professor, Humanities and Media Studies
142. Ann Schoenfeld, Adjunct Associate Professor, Fine Art
143. Frank Lind, professor, Fine Arts
144. Kathryn-Cullen Dupont, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Humanities and Media Studies
145. Howard Buchwald, Professor, Fine Arts
146. Perry Han, Director, Enrollment Management, Center for Continuing and Professional Studies
147. Lee Stout
148. Judith Nylen, Visiting Assistant Professor, Industrial Design
149. Allan Chochinov, Associate Professor, Industrial Design
150. Luis Alonso, Adjunct professor, Foundation Art
151. Luba Lukova, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Communications Design
152. Laurel Thompson, Professor, Creative Arts Therapy
153. Brian Brooks, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Foundation Art
154. Todd Ayoung, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Foundation Art
155. Katarina Posch, Associate Professor, History of Art and Design
156. Christian Hawkey, Associate Professor, Humanities and Media Studies
157. Linda Lauro-Lazin, Adjunct Associate professor, Digital Arts
158. Michael L. Kelly, Adjunct Associate Professor, Communications Design
159. Karen D’Angelo, Director of Marketing, Center for Contiuing and Professional Studies
160. Ethan Spigland, Associate Professor, Humanities and Media Studies
161. Judith Reiss, Professor Emeritus, Fine Arts
162. Robert Zakarian, Professor, Fine Arts
163. Kelly Horrigan, Adjunct Associate Professor, Fashion Design
CC:
AETNA Board of Directors
Congressman Gary Ackerman
Congressman Tim Bishop
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke
Congressman Jospeh Crowley
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo
Congressman Eliot Engel
Senator Kristin Gillibrand
Tom Greene, Director of Human Resources, Pratt Institute
Ruth Levin, Senior Vice President for Managed Care, Continuum Health Partners
Congressman Michael McMahon
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
Congressman Gregory Meeks
Congressman Jerrold Nadler
Congressman Charles Rangel
Senator Charles E, Schumer
Thomas Schutte, President, Pratt Institute
Congressman José Serrano
Congressman Edolphus Towns
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez
Congressman Anthony Weiner
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