"Health insurance plans have now asked the State for a 17% rate increase, with some plans as high as 45%," said Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried, lead Assembly sponsor of the bill.  "Year after year, the cost of coverage for families and employers goes up faster than wages and inflation.  Premiums, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-network charges, and uncontrolled drug costs undermine health care and family finances, and are a heavier burden on employers and taxpayers."

"The Affordable Care Act has made important improvements to the system, but as long as our health coverage comes from insurance companies, it will be an increasingly unbearable burden," Gottfried said.  "One in three Americans still put off medical treatment due to cost in 2015, and 40% of New Yorkers reported having cut down on other expenses to afford health care."

"People say a single-payer system makes perfect sense, but 'it could never happen.'  The Assembly's commitment and the growing public support are changing the conversation," Gottfried said.  "It may not happen in Washington for a long time, but New York can and will do it."

Universal, complete health coverage through a single-payer system would cover everyone while removing financial barriers to care with a progressive, broad-based public funding system based on ability to pay.  " The net savings to New Yorkers every year would be $45 billion," said Gottfried.  "It would save tens of billions in private health insurance administration and profit as well as the costs health care providers spend fighting with dozens of different insurers - total administrative costs that today make up 20% to 25% of the American health care dollar.  New York Health would also capture savings by negotiating prices for drugs and medical devices, and save businesses the time and money they spend reviewing, selecting, and administering employee health benefits.  New Yorkers would save billions they now spend on deductibles, copays, and out-of-network charges."

"I commend the Assembly for fundamentally addressing one of the great human rights issues of our time: health care," said Senator Bill Perkins, lead Senate sponsor of the bill. "The New York Health Act is a universal preventative solution for all New Yorkers.  It will finally recognize the fundamental human rights principle that our collective health is our greatest source of collective wealth.  Moreover, by putting patients before profits, New York Health will revolutionize our healthcare system, address persistent disparities and ensure that care is truly patient-centered, once and for all."  

"We congratulate and thank our elected leaders in the Assembly for once again voting in favor of the New York Health Act," said Judy Sheridan-Gonzales, RN, President of the New York State Nurses Association.  "The overwhelming majority of New Yorkers want real reform of our healthcare system - to create a publicly-funded system based on care not profits.  Today New York is one step closer to that goal."

"The New York Health Act removes financial barriers to health care - the co-pays and deductibles - that keep some of my patients from seeing me when they need to," said Oliver Fein, MD, Chair of Physicians for a National Health Program-NY Metro Chapter.  "I also wouldn't have to worry about my patients affording the medications, lab tests or consultations that they need.  I wouldn't have to waste countless hours fighting insurance companies to approve necessary medical care.  The New York Health Act would end the tiered access to health care based on a patient's insurance status, and guarantee equal access to care that is funded fairly - something every New Yorker deserves."

"New York has made great strides under the Affordable Care Act, but now it's time to take the next step and move toward a truly universal health care program," said Mark Hannay, Director of Metro New York Health Care for All.  "The Assembly's vote starts us down that path, and the New York Health Act provides a very good way to provide all New Yorkers with comprehensive, affordable health care."

"We spend between 10% to 15% of our gross budget to provide for employee healthcare. The experience of developed countries with a single payer system for medical care proves that this cost can be slashed in half for us if New York State will transition to a single payer health care system," said Cor Drost, President & CEO, Transonic, Inc., an Ithaca-based medical device manufacturer. 

 

"Health care costs are holding labor hostage," said Bob Master, Assistant to the Vice President of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 1, which just ended a nearly two-month long strike with Verizon after negotiating terms including health care benefits for over 30,000 Verizon workers.  "A single-payer system would take health care off the bargaining table. It would give us more power to bargain for what working families deserve: higher pay, sick leave, job security. In the process we would also get an efficient, high-quality health care system that actually serves patients rather than the CEOs and shareholders of insurance companies. Right now, 31 cents of every health care dollar go to profits and administrative waste. We need to redirect those resources and build a system that protects people, not one that denies care to drive up the profit margin."  CWA District 1 represents over 175,000 workers. 

"New Yorkers deserve better," said Assembly Member Gottfried. "We should be able to go to the doctor when we need to, without worrying whether we can afford it. We should choose our doctors and hospitals without worrying about network restrictions. We deserve health coverage for all of us, paid for based on our ability to pay, not what the market will bear."

New York Health has been endorsed by the NYS Academy of Family Physicians, NYS American Academy of Pediatrics, NYS Nurses Association, Committee of Interns and Residents SEIU, Doctors Council SEIU, NY chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, NYS AFL-CIO, SEIU 1199, NYSUT, UFT,  32BJ SEIU, Communications Workers of America, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1056 and 1179, United Auto Workers 9 & 9A, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, UFCW Local 1500, Capital District Area Labor Federation, the Sullivan County Legislature, the Tompkins County Legislature, Working Families Party, Green Party, Citizen Action, Community Service Society, NYPIRG, Statewide Senior Action Council, League of Women Voters, Make the Road NY, NY Immigration Coalition, and others.