New York State Assembly Passes Single Payer Health Care Bill

This month the New York State Assembly passed a bill to establish Single Payer health insurance in the state.

The New York Health Act would create a state-run insurance option open to all New York residents. The new health plan would have no deductibles or copays and would not limit participants to seeing doctors within a prescribed network. The bill would combine administration of other state programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program into a consolidated plan.

The bill currently has more than 20 sponsors in the State Senate.

New York is not the only state considering a single payer health system. Colorado residents will vote on a ballot referendum this November on whether to enact a new Single Payer PLan called Colorado Care.

In 2011 Vermont passed the first state-based single payer system in the US. In 2015 the effort to establish the system was put on hold due to cost concerns.

Links:

For second year in a row, Assembly passes universal health care bill (The Legislative Gazette, June 2, 2016)

New York Health Act (New York State Assembly)

Universal Health-Care Bill Passes Assembly (Public News Service, June 3, 2016)

Colorado Weighs Replacing Obama’s Health Policy With Universal Coverage (The New York Times, April 28. 2016)

Costs derail Vermont’s dream of a single-payer health plan (The Boston Globe, January 25, 2015)