It’s one of New York’s best hospitals — and yesterday it was a microcosm of how sharply divided the nation is over health-care reform.
At New York University Medical Center, opinions ranged from anger to rejoicing over the impending passage of the bill.
“I work for one of the top facilities in New York state, and anybody can fall on my doorstep and get any procedure, any day or night, regardless of what their ability to pay is,” said Melissa Carbone, a 17-year veteran nurse at the facility, who said she marched in Washington on Saturday to oppose the House bill.
“This has nothing to do with health care, and this has everything to do with forcing people to do something they don’t want to do,” added Carbone, 51.
But 27-year-old medical student Yelina Alvarez saw nothing but potential in the bill.
“People will not go to the hospital here because they don’t have insurance. I think we could prevent a lot of diseases, such as chronic obesity and diabetes, if we could get more people to come to the hospital in time,” Alvarez told The Post.
Marcy Lotterman, 52, a home-care physical therapist who was at the hospital with her daughter Wendy, 19, agreed that “everyone deserves health insurance.”
“And I’m so glad that someone is finally doing something about it,” she said. “We need to provide this for everybody.”
Second-year medical student Josh Namm, 24, said he was anxious about the changes.
“A lot of us students are worrying about paying back our student loans,” he said. “We have a couple of hundred thousand dollars in student loans, and we’re not sure if we’ll be making the same amount as doctors are now if this passes.”
In the waiting room to visit a sick brother-in-law, Larry Ramnarine, 50, of Long Island, said even though he has insurance, reform is needed.
“You have to try to help . . . all the people who cannot afford [insurance]. The rich, they can buy any policy they want,” he said.