Time for New York Health Act has come
The New York Health Act should be addressed by both houses of the Legislature this session. The act will create a state-operated health insurance that will cover all New Yorkers, eliminating commercial insurance, Medicare and Medicaid.
Some trade unions have been unenthusiastic, citing long and hard negotiations that won current benefits. In fact, those benefits have deteriorated. A big percentage of employer-sponsored plans are high deductible, co-pays have escalated and wage increases were forfeited to protect shrinking health benefits.
Those hard-fought negotiations are what economists call sunk costs. We fought, won some, lost others, but those battles are in the past. We made the choices we needed to, but, when those choices no longer serve us, we must be free to make new decisions. The past should not control how we move forward.
The New York Health Act is an opportunity. It will reduce health care costs for 90 percent of New Yorkers. Its benefits are better than any current commercial plan in New York. If we quit or lose our jobs, our insurance won’t go away. With quality health insurance guaranteed, negotiations can focus on wages and working conditions.
New York can do it. Our legislation will show other states what they can accomplish. Each of us should let our union leaders and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie know that it is time for the New York Health Act to be debated.