Senator Gallivan Remains Concerned About Proposed NY Health Act

Senator Patrick M. Gallivan, (R-C-I, Elma) the ranking member of the New York State Senate’s Health Committee, remains concerned about the impact a proposed single payer health plan would have on New York taxpayers, patients and those who work in the health care industry.

Senator Gallivan joined his Legislature colleagues Thursday at a joint Senate-Assembly hearing on the proposed New York Health Act (NYHA) in Rochester. 

“I appreciate the testimony of those who spoke at Thursday’s hearing,” Senator Gallivan said. “Our system is not perfect and we must work to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to quality, affordable health care.  However, a government run, taxpayer funded system is not the answer.”

According to the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, the estimated cost of implementing the NYHA in the first year alone is $160 billion.  That equates to an approximate 178% tax increase, the largest hike in history, in a state already among the highest taxed in the nation. 

The NYHA, as proposed, would be the only government run single-payer health system in the world that does not include cost-sharing requirements, prior authorization, provider networks and private health insurance options.  It also contains no definitive mechanism for funding unlimited benefits. 

“This seems highly impractical in that no taxpayer-funded program can afford unlimited and unrestricted health care,” Senator Gallivan said.  “As I learned during a recent meeting with health care experts in Toronto, approximately 30% of Canadian health care is funded by private insurance and out-of-pocket expenses.  It also limits some medical services, such as dental, vision, mental health treatment and outpatient prescription drugs.”  

Similar socialized programs have resulted in treatment delays access issues and financial challenges in other countries, including Canada.  The Canadian system struggles to keep hospitals open and the doctors necessary to staff them. The lack of providers often results in long wait times, sometimes months, before being able to see a doctor, especially in the case of specialized care and treatment. According to the Fraser Institute, on average, Canadians must wait 39 weeks for a knee replacement and 21 weeks to see a specialist.

Proponents of the NYHA say it would provide coverage for those New Yorkers who are currently uninsured.  That number continues to decline and now stands at less than 5% of the population. 

“Radically changing the current system by eliminating Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and other programs for the 95% of New Yorkers already covered is unnecessary,” Senator Gallivan said. 

To make matters worse, the program would likely lead to the loss of thousands of health related jobs, many in the private sector.

Senator Gallivan believes the NYHA would create a huge new bureaucracy that would be financially unsustainable.     

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