By Doug Cunningham

SEIU 1199 in New York and the Greater New York Hospital Association have launched a web-based e advocacy campaign called The Healthcare Education Project. It's an effort to stop $1.3 billion in health care budget cuts proposed by New York Governor Pataki. Thousands of SEIU members are sending petition signatures and send e-mails to elected officials. Pataki's cuts include serious cuts in Medicaid reimbursements and to nursing homes. SEIU says Pataki's planned cuts will shift hundreds of millions of dollars in health care costs to New Yorkers through benefit reductions and increased co-pays.