WAVERLY, N.Y. (WENY) — The League of Women Voters for Broome and Tioga Counties (LWVBTC) hosted a presentation to help New Yorkers understand a proposed bill that could change how they get health insurance.
The proposed ‘New York Health Act’ (NYHA) would provide every New York resident with comprehensive health insurance with no copays, deductibles or out-of-network costs.
“As a retired nurse practitioner who worked in primary care for 38 years, my main goal is to make sure that anybody has access to full health care,” said Marita Florini, a member of LWVBTC. “When you have a bill like this that specifically covers physical health, mental health, dental, vision, prosthetics, durable medical equipment, ambulance services, and at the same time, is showing a savings for county budgets, school budgets, et cetera, it’s a win-win.”
Florini said she has been an avid supporter of the NYHA since it was introduced by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried in 1991.
“Way back when, when Assemblyman Gottfried was a newer assemblyman, he developed this program,” said Florini. “It was exactly what primary care providers felt we needed because there were so many people at the time who did not have adequate health insurance, or they were working three part-time jobs and had no health insurance.”
The bill has undergone several changes over the last three decades, including new sponsors, but the core principles of the NYHA remain the same.
“This bill would allow people to have insurance and also make it steadier too, because this insurance is not something that’s tied to a job or tied to a partner; you get divorced, or you lose your job, or you change jobs, the health insurance goes with you,” said Cori Marshall, MD, a family medicine provider at Sayre Family Practice Department of Robert Packer Hospital. “This gives you that steadiness where you’re not worried about changes in your life that would mess up what’s going on.”
Dr. Marshall said she supports the bill not only as a healthcare provider, but also as a private citizen.
“I have two-year-old twins, and it was kind of a rough pregnancy. I had some preterm labor scares when I was pregnant, and ended up going into the hospital and having to be shipped out to another hospital that had NICU services in case of delivery,” she said. “I had to go to a hospital that was out of network, and so I had to pay for that out of pocket. So I ended up with about $6,000 in medical bills, even though I have good insurance.”
Dr. Marshall said the bill would have been even higher if her twins had been born that day, but the NYHA would have eliminated out-of-network costs entirely.
“Every New York State resident will be covered based on ability to pay regardless of age, wealth or employment status,” said Susan Beckley, a small business manager out of Tompkins County.
Beckley said if the bill is passed, it will be funded through a payroll tax and the federal funds received for Medicare and other federally funded low-cost health insurance programs.
“It will be administered by the state and will save school districts, town and municipal budgets a great deal of money, because the funding of it will be through a modest payroll tax and whatever federal monies come in currently.”
Opponents in Albany say the bill would raise taxes for those with higher income, and there’s no mention of how healthcare providers would be paid under the NYHA.
“Those with higher incomes would pay more, but the bill does not provide details on the rates or income brackets for these new taxes. While some people might save money, many more would pay substantially more for coverage,” said State Senator Patrick Gallivan (R, C) 60th Senate District. “The legislation also fails to say how much health care providers would be paid for their services. It would be irresponsible for the state to implement such a massive program without knowing such details.”
The bill is currently in the New York State Senate’s Health Committee. It is sponsored by state senator Gustavo Rivera.