New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), who chairs the Health Committee of the New York State Assembly, began holding hearings across the state of New York in December as part of an effort to drum up support for a single-payer health care system in the Empire State. Five hearings have been held in so far in Buffalo, Mineola, New York City, Rochester, and Syracuse, and a final hearing will be held in January at the state capitol in Albany.
Gottfried’s plan would eliminate private insurance, replacing it with a state agency that pays all approved medical bills.
Assemblyman Joseph Borelli (R-Staten Island), who serves with Gottfried on the Health Committee, says he’s concerned a single-payer system would make New York uncompetitive with neighboring Connecticut and New Jersey.
“This would more than double the tax burden on New Yorkers,” making the state “extremely uncompetitive,” Borelli told Health Care News. He also said the hearings are “doing a great job pointing out the flaws of Obamacare,” but that he is concerned single-payer could be “an even more flawed system.”
Sean Parnell ([email protected]) is managing editor of Health Care News.
Sean Parnell ([email protected]) is a research fellow for health policy at The Heartland Institute.
