A NY state lawmaker proposed today that New York create a $59 billion health insurance program that would cover everyone in the state, and probably be paid for through a huge tax increase.
The plan, by Assembly Health Committee chairman Richard Gottfried, would generally replace the private health plans that now provide coverage to residents through their jobs.
He offered no suggestions, however, on how to pay for the health plan, which would give New York the country's largest state-run health insurance program.
Gottfried acknowledged that the program would have to be paid for by new taxes, but he said he believed NY residents would wind up paying less under his plan than they pay now in health insurance premiums and deductibles. His office estimated that the current system costs New Yorkers and their employers $63 billion per year.
The proposal was applauded by some groups that have lobbied for universal health care, but criticized by others who suggested there was little evidence the state could afford it, or that it could do a better job than the current insurance system.
Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who announced earlier this week that he would commission an independent research group to help develop a plan for universal health coverage, said he welcomed Gottfried's proposal as a "valuable option" worthy of future study.
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