Do No Harm

By Bill Hammond | January 22, 2019 | Empire Center

New York State’s Legislature has emerged as a central forum in the nationwide debate over “single-payer” health care.

Discussion in Albany focuses on the proposed New York Health Act, which would establish a state-run, taxpayer-funded global health plan intended to replace all existing insurance, both public and private.

First introduced in 1992 by Assembly Health Chairman Richard Gottfried, the legislation has passed the Assembly in each of the past four years and has broad support in the Senate’s newly installed Democratic majority.

The legislation proposes to cover 100 percent of medical bills for 20 million New Yorkers—including 1.1 million who are currently uninsured—with zero copayments or deductibles, no limit on choice of providers and no need for advance approval of claims.

In place of insurance premiums, which would be eliminated, this larger and more generous system would be financed through additional taxes collected by state government.

Supporters insist the plan would reduce spending overall—and cost less than the status quo for all but a wealthy few—while still providing plenty of money for the state’s health-care system to flourish.

It sounds too good to be true – because it is.

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